Miracle
by Morgri
Summary: Birthdays have never been kind to Naruto. But what if this time he gets a gift he will never forget, and finds out that miracles aren’t always what one expects them to be.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, and I'm glad I don't, otherwise I would be the result of the terrible fillers that are playing on TV right now, and all of you would kill me…

Summary: October 13th has never been kind to Naruto. But what if this time he gets a gift he will never forget, and finds out that miracles aren't always what one expects them to be.

AU (alternate Universe) there will be OoC through the story on some characters.

"Denotes speech"  
'_Denotes thought'  
_Shift in Time or Seen  
_**Flash Back**_

_**Miracle  
**_Morgri

Well worn ropes swung back and forth under the wet branches of the academy's only standing tree. It was a cold and dreary night with large dark clouds pouring their tears upon the colorful village of Konoha. This was the kind of weather one would want and expect to have on the saddest day of the year; and for Naruto, it was the perfect weather for his Birthday – Cold and unkind.

October the 13th had never been a happy day for Naruto, far from special; for today was the day the boy would be constantly reminded of his cruel ties with the demon fox, Kyuubi; and often, his mind was not the culprit. Many times drunken and angry villagers had used this day as an excuse to abuse the boy mentally and physically, and despite the Hokage's attempts to stop this, the bitter villagers would use harsh, demoralizing words and bats, buckets, even kunai if available, to destroy the younger boy's already lacking self-confidence. Some beatings were so harsh, they had left him to the brink of death, of course, that was when he was younger; he could at least defend himself a little now.

Through all of this, year in and out, Naruto always kept hope that something special would occur, and despite all the troubles this day brought, he naively continued to leave home and wait at the Hokage's tower, were his dreams had told him his 'miracle' would occur. Not that his home was safe or anything, either place it brought him "a world of pain," as the 12 year old had put it.

"Maybe I should go," The blonde spoke, his voice frail and tired. It had been yet another discouraging birthday for the boy, and the usual cheery kid seemed almost dead to the world. This, however, was not due to the bumps and bruises on his body; it was not because of the cuts and scrapes on his face, nor his feeling of being alone; but because of the disappointed of having to wait yet another year to receive his 'gift'.

The old swing creaked as Naruto jumped off, leaving an echo to fade in the rain. It was late, and Naruto figured that the festivities had died down enough that much of the crowds had gone home. If that were the case, then he would be able to get back to his home without getting involved in anymore fights. After all, Naruto wasn't as careless as many believed, for he did live a difficult life, and many times, carelessness was not an option to survive.

The boy wrapped his arms around his chest to warm himself and walked to the academy's main gates. Pausing for a moment, he surveyed his surrounding before walking out. Being a ninja, one always needed to stay alert, and though he was not the best at it, he knew at least trying wouldn't hurt.

Deciding the roads was clear, Naruto trampled outside. His wet, muddy shoe's left prints in Konoha's currently mucky roads. The rain had taken its toll on the streets, and all the grime made it more difficult to lift ones feet and walk. For Naruto though, that didn't matter, home was quite far away and complaining would only make the trip that much longer. _'At least,' _he thought, _'I'll get to pass that place one more time.'_ Naruto's apartment was on the other side of town, and to his pleasure, the Ichiraku Ramen Stand was right smack in middle of his journey home. Whether it was open or not, he wasn't sure. Since he could remember, the Ichiraku would usually stay open on this 'mourning day', but he did remember some instances when the restaurant was closed. More importantly, the Hokage's tower was also on his way home, and it gave him the chance to check just one more time.

The boy slowly made his way down the quiet roads of Konoha, and as suspected many of the people had gone home, and the few who had not seemed too tired to instigate anything with the fox boy besides the usual glare here and there.

Naruto grunted, "They'll never stop," he murmured, glaring at the ground. He attempted to suppress his disgust, but his grudge against many of the villagers made it extremely difficult to do so. Patience, though, is a virtue, and something that Naruto had been taught through experience, even though he did not always practice it. He did, however, know when to practice self control, and this was one of those instances when it was best to withhold from the selfish desires of contempt and revenge, "Maybe someday," the boy sighed.

Naruto once again arrived at the Hokage's towers. He looked up and cursed, "Stupid dream, I never should have believed what that fox predicted," He pouted and turned away, "He's the reason people hate me, and here I am believing him?" the boy snarled, "How stupid am I?"

The blonde turned and walked on, arriving at the alley he normally used as short cut home. It was the older and dirtier section of Konoha, where the thieves and drunks usually stole or begged for money. This was not really a place children should have been, one would argue, but with no supervision, this had been the hotspot for kidnappings of all sorts. Luckily, most of the responsible parents had kept their children in check.

Naruto didn't waste time entering the alley. What was once a calm drizzle had turned back into a downpour of rain, and the boy's already soaked body was getting even wetter. Tired of the rain and with home being only blocks away, Naruto began running through the alley, trying to get home as fast as possible. It wasn't the most brilliant idea; in fact, it was probably kind of…

BAAAAAAMMMMM

I didn't take long before Naruto face was plastered on a trash can lid. He put his hands to his head and moaned in pain…

"Ooowwww,"

Surprised to here a different voice, Naruto snapped his head towards its source. To his astonishment, a little girl, no older than seven, lay flat on the floor. She had short brown hair reaching down to her shoulders, and bright green eyes. His surprise deadened when he saw her condition. Her clothes were ragged and wet, and she looked malnourished and unhealthy.

The young girl slowly picked her self up from the floor until she was seated. She looked up and was startled to see Naruto looking back at her. He carefully got up and approached the girl. Seeing his advances, she quickly withdrew, pushing backwards until a wall blocked her from going any further.

"A-Are you alright," The boy inquired, flustered at fact that she had jumped away so quickly.

The younger girl looked back at him, seemingly searching him for any signs of danger. "You-Your not—gonna take me back," She paused, watching his movement, "To the orphanage, r-right?"

"W-why… Not?"

Her face darkened, "They hate me," she snarled, tears forming in her eyes, "And-and I don't know why." Naruto's face immediately softened, and he gazed at her with a look of understanding.

"How long have you been alone?"

"I… Don't know," she stumbled.

"Here," He offered her his hand. She looked at him questioningly, "You'll get sick if you stay in the rain," He gave her his special grin and she immediately took his hand. "Come, I'll carry you," The boy said warmly, carefully putting her on his back, as to give her a piggy-back ride. The girl put her hands around his neck to secure her place, and he marched off to his home.

* * *

…Meanwhile…

* * *

The Sandaime watched the blonde boy intently through his seeing glass. He had known how the villagers treated the kid on this day, and ever since the first time the villagers almost killed the kid; he made sure that it would not happen again. He could not, however stop all the attacks, even with his own skills, he couldn't be there to protect Naruto, for during the day he had meetings and celebrations he was required to attend as the Hokage. He did at least send Anbu to look over the boy, but often; they would just watch the kid get beaten. But to his credit, he did make sure that the kid got home alive, even though that was not saying much. 

This topic, however, was not on the old man's mind. The strange happenings that had just occurred between the young girl, whom the Sandiame did recognize, and the supposed-to-be hero of Konoha, intrigued him to no end. For one, the girl should not have been left behind by her traitorous family, and two, even then, there should have been no reason for the orphanage to place the blame of her families misdoing on the young girl to begin with.

She was, after all, to young to understand the crimes of treason placed upon her families head, and adding to that, the young girl should have been placed in the care of a close friend, or caring family. Why she ended up in the orphanage was a mystery to even him.

Even more discomforting was the fact that the fox boy seemed to know about the Kyuubi. It had come by surprise when he heard the boy speak of this "prediction" as a trick by the, "Stupid fox," as Naruto had put it. When and how he had found out about the fox had become an enigma of its own. If someone were leaking this information, it would not only endanger the hopes of decent future for Naruto, but also put a target on his head. There were many tribes and villages willing to risk life and limb to use boy as a weapon, and if he fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be unimaginable. He was almost sure that there were more ways to crack the seal than the jutsu written in the secret scroll.

Adding to his troubles was the fact that all three Sannin had disappeared from the village, including one that had directly turned against Konoha and promised to destroy the village. The justsu obsessed traitor offered much more danger directly than any other possible threat. If Naruto were to fall into his hands, there were never-ending possibilities for which the evil Sannin could do with the boy. Also, if his memories didn't deceive him, the snake Sannin had had an eerie infatuation of the Uchiha Clan. With the recent slaughter of the family, the only survivor, Uchiha Sasuke, had also become a large liability. His lust for revenge upon his brother Itachi had made him power-hungry; and if the snake Sannin were to get a hold of the Uchiha, the Sandiame believed the boy could and would be easily manipulated.

Unfortunately, this dilemma didn't end there. Graduation exams would take place in the next week, and it was his duty to decide the team structures. Assuming the Uchiha did pass the test, and it was almost certain that he would, finding two partners that could open him up from his shell, and be qualified shinobi, would be almost as difficult as keeping him safe. There was, at least, a talented group of future genin this year, and he was almost sure he could pick out one person to go with the troubled boy. Then there was Hatake Kakashi, who possessed the Sharingan eye. Assuming the lazy Jounin would actually show up, there was the chance that this teacher could help Sasuke develop his sharingan, and further more, give him a lesson about life. The only problem was that by giving the selected team this Jounin to focus on Sasuke, the others would undoubtedly be under trained or if lucky, just feel left out.

The Hokage tapped his smoke pipe on the table before grabbing Naruto's personal file of the desk. Scanning it, he got up from his chair and walked to the window. This would certainly be an interesting end of year, and the Hokage certainly did not have his hopes up. He took his eyes off the folder and look towards Naruto's home.

"What will you do, Naruto, with the daughter of one of the most traitorous families in Konoha's history?"

* * *

…Naruto's doorstep…

* * *

Naruto's struggled to get his keys out of his water-logged jacket, and his frustration was apparent when he cursed at it. After fiddling around a little, he was finally able to get the door open and usher the younger girl in. He threw his jacket on the ground and pushed the girl towards the kitchen. 

While lighting a match, he walked towards his small stove and lit it, "This will keep us a little warmer," he spoke. The little girl just nodded, and went to sit on the only chair in the room.

"The bathroom is right there," he started, pointing towards first of to doors in his apartment, "Go and turn on the shower, and I'll be right there with some," he paused and scanned her body, "cleaner clothes."

"Okay." The girl nodded obediently and left towards the door.

Naruto sighed and turned his attention towards his cupboard. He was sure the girl was hungry, and he hadn't eaten much during the day either. He reached up and pulled down his last two cups of ramen, then set them on the counter; filled a pot with water, and put it on the stove. He then left to his room to get the girl some clothes.

"Ow!"

Naruto heard the girls scream and rushed to the bathroom, "Are you all right?" He questioned.

"The water is too hot," She pouted.

"Oh, there's a trick to this," He told her, " This cold nozzle is broken, so you have to push into it to turn it," He mused, showing her exactly how to turn the cold water on, "It's a little difficult at first," He smiled. He put his hand in the water to feel the temperature. Deciding it was just right, he withdrew his hand and returned his attention to the girl, "There yah go. It won't stay hot for very long, so you should bathe quickly. If you need me, just call me." With that he left the girl to her privacy.

Returning to his room, Naruto looked for some suitable clothes. Being his age, he really didn't have much to offer the little girl, that and he really didn't have much for himself either. He went through his drawer until he found and old shirt he'd been given not long ago. It had a small spiral on the back, and red sleeves. If his memories served, this shirt had been given to him by the Hokage, when the old man had come to check up on him. Naruto had never worn it because he didn't want to harm his first gift, so he set it aside. Coincidently, it was just large enough to act as a gown for the little girl, and some old shorts he had kept should have been just small enough to fit her. He also picked up some socks. The floor was to cold to walk on with out them.

"Her clothes are pretty roughed up," Naruto spoke to himself, "I'll have to buy her some news ones tomorrow. I doubt she'll be comfortable in these," he contemplated. _'I can't afford this… But I can't just leave her out to dry, I don't want her to live like I have, it wouldn't be fair.'_

He walked back to the bathroom and knocked on it, "Here are some clothes for when you're done," he shouted through the noise, "Put them on and bring me your old ones as soon as you get out," he finished.

"OKAY!"

Hearing the response he left to finish their dinner. Naruto grabbed the old rocking chair in his room and left to the kitchen. The water had finished boiling, and all he needed to do was add it to the ramen. He turned off the stove, went to his sink, and poured in the water. He then closed the seal as to let the noodles cook and sat in the rocking chair he had set next to the small table. _'What should I do with her' _he asked himself.

He had thought about going to the Hokage to ask why the little had been mistreated, but the thought of talking up to the Sandiame was quite intimidating and whether he liked it or not, the old man could kick his butt. The orphanage was not an option either. The girl had already run away from there, and if she was anything like him, he wouldn't doubt her doing it again. Plus, if he did that, the girl would lose what little trust she already had for him; and to Naruto, that was definite no. _'I guess I'll have to keep her here for a while,' _he thought, _'I'm sure if I pass the test this time, and I can support her until I find some one nice to take her in.' _

The whole situation was troublesome in his mind.

Naruto heard the floor creak, and it wasn't long before his new housemate arrived in the kitchen. She tossed her clothes in pile near the door, and at Naruto's motion went to sit beside him in the only other chair.

"This is all I've got, so I hope you like ramen," He spoke softly, smiling at her.

"I've never tried ramen," She returned.

"Heh, then today is something to be happy about eh?"

She wrapped some of the noodles around her fork and brought the flavored juice to her mouth. Instantly, her face lit up, and she dove for more.

"Eh—I see you like it, hehehe," Naruto laughed, he smiled sheepishly at himself, _'And everyone says otherwise, Hah, shows them!' _Naruto thought, wallowing in his own self contentment.

"It's--slurp--very--mmmm--good," She spokated (Note: I couldn't think of anything better to put / ). She finished the cup so fast that even Naruto was gaping at her.

"Ummm… you want some more?" He motioned towards her.

"Y-Yes please."

Naruto took his Ramen and poured it into the girl's cup. _'I think she needs it more than I do,' _he thought.

"So, what's your name?"

"Ummm," She whispered, casting down her eyes. Naruto seemed to regret his asking her name, and quickly helped her out.

"Uh, my name is Uzumaki Naruto," He peered at her, "Future Hokage of the village of Konoha!" He exclaimed, raising his arms above his head and flexing his muscles, "HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Tee hee," she giggled at his antics. Surprisingly, for the first time since she'd been placed in the orphanage, she felt comfortable around someone; she'd felt genuinely happy. _'Maybe—he won't be like all the others'_ she looked up and smiled. It was her first smile since meeting Naruto, and maybe, she decided, it wouldn't be the last. She took her cup and finished her food.

"Kiseki."

"Huh?"

"My name is Kiseki,"

"Kiseki—it's a nice name," He muttered almost pensively, the smile returning to his face.

"It means," She looked up and spoke more confidently, "Miracle."

"Miracle eh, well its ni—ugh!" In a quick motion Kiseki had risen from her chair and thrown her small arms around Naruto. She didn't say a word, but her feelings were clearly displayed as quiet tears fell from her eyes.

'_May—Maybe, she won't be that troublesome after all."_

* * *

End Chapter One.

* * *

Author Comments 

So, I've seen so many "Somebody takes Naruto in," fics that I decided to put a twist on it and have Naruto take somebody in instead. I think it'll make for and interesting story. Don't worry, I'm not a huge fan OC's either, but seeing so many lately, I decided to try my own. One that won't be some mary-sue that gets the best of everything. Anyways, comments, concerns, hatred, flaming, is all welcome! I hope to hear from you guys, oh and I apologize for not writing the next chapter of When Did You Change, I'll get that written ASAP. Thanks.

By the way, I think the story is reletevaly error free, but if you happen to find one, please email me about it so that I can fix it. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, and I'm glad I don't, otherwise I would be the result of the terrible fillers that are playing on TV right now, and all of you would kill me…

Summary: Birthdays have never been kind to Naruto. But what if this time he gets a gift he will never forget, and finds out that miracles aren't always what one expects them to be.

AU (alternate Universe) there will be OoC through out the story on some characters.

"Denotes speech"  
'_Denotes thought'  
_Shift in Time or Seen  
**_Flash Back_**

**_Miracle  
_**Morgri

Morning could have never come at a faster pace than it had, and Naruto was rudely reminded of his guest when Kiseki had nudged him out of his sleep. No, it wasn't intentional, but Naruto swore he had never seen a person kick or punch in bed as much as the young girl that slept beside him and despite all of his attempts, she absolutely refused to let him sleep on the couch.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and drearily turned to look at the little girl. She slept there peacefully, fully unaware of her surroundings, as if she hadn't a worry in the world. It was the kind of look you expected to see on a seven year old, not the look he had seen the day before. The boy smiled when she grabbed his pillow and snuggled up to it. It was good to see the girl resting, he imagined she didn't get that kind of sleep on the streets, and he knew for a fact that he hadn't when he was forced to live outside.

He sighed. He had a long day awaiting him, including a very important day at the academy in a couple of hours. He also had to go and get the younger girl some clothes, and more importantly, something to eat. He wouldn't let her starve. Besides, he had always heard that breakfast was the best meal of the day. The only problem was that there was no viable restaurant that would actually let him in to get something healthy to eat. After all, the owners of these restaurants had the right to refuse any costumer, whether Naruto liked that or not. Granted, the old man could easily solve this ordeal, but in all of Naruto's honesty, the boy was too ashamed to tell the Hokage of the problem.

Being the smart thinker that he was, however, Naruto had already thought of a solution for this; wait and figure out what to do when he got there. It was simple and brilliant, well in his mind anyway. Nah, Naruto figured that the easiest way to get her in without causing trouble was to just give her the money and watch her from the outside of the restaurant, that would be enough to avoid some unnecessary argument.

Naruto got up and walked to his drawer. He pulled out his regular orange jumpsuit and black t-shirt and proceeded to walk to the shower. The boy turned the hot water and the pulled on the other knob to turn on some cold water. Kiseki had just bathed the other night, and he figured she could get away with no shower for the time being, besides, he didn't have enough hot water to keep them both comfortable, and he didn't like bathing in cold water either.

After enjoying his quick shower, Naruto put on his normal attire, minus the jacket, and went to find Kiseki some temporary clothing. Selecting what he thought would fit her, his old white t-shirt and some raggedy old pants, he went over to the bed, and tapped the girl enough to wake her up. After no response the first time, he tapped her again, this time a little harder, and in a slight whisper told her that it was morning.

"Onii-chan," the girl whispered groggily, as if she were still half asleep. Finally realizing where she was, she brought her pillow to her chest, and looked around what was at this time a foreign place to her.

"How did you sleep?"

She snapped her head towards the voice, and after a small blank stare, gave Naruto one of her rare smiles and spoke a mornings greeting. Naruto chuckled at her sudden realization; it had brought back memories of the first time he had woken up in this room. He had had virtually the same reaction, that is, a slight sense of fear, bewilderment, and confusion; all this before realizing he had finally found a place to call home, even if it was all by himself.

"Here, put these clothes on, I'll take you to get some breakfast after you've washed your face." Naruto said, laying the clothing onto the bed and then walking to the other side of the room.

Kiseki quickly undressed herself, lay what she was wearing on the bed, and proceeded to take the clothing she had just been given. Seeing she was dressed Naruto approached her and held out his jacket.

"It's still pretty cold outside," Naruto said, Kiseki taking the jacked out of his hand, "This should be enough to keep you warm until we get you some clothes."

Before putting the jacket on, Kiseki left to wash her face and brush her teeth. According to Naruto, who despite his looks was quite clean, personal hygiene was important, especially the hands, face, and teeth. Naruto, above all the criticism from the other children, had become quite clean in his own right. This was mostly because what little he had was to important to just toss around and he couldn't afford to replace any accidentally broken objects. Naruto had learned this lesson when he had kicked one of the few plates he had into a wall and totally shattered it. He decided then that he wouldn't let it happen again. Even now, if one were to enter his home, they would be quite surprised

After a couple of minutes, Kiseki returned to the room all washed up and wearing Naruto's warm jacket. Naruto shuffled through one of his drawers before pulling out what looked to be a quite expensive crystal color necklace. It was shaped like a diamond and tied onto a small black string. The pretty shine quickly caught Kiseki's eye, but before she could ask he took her by the hand and led out the door, down the stairs, and onto Konoha's usual quiet morning streets. It was now 7:00 AM, and Naruto figured that he would have just enough time to both feed the girl and take her shopping for clothes before having to go to the academy.

In regards of money, Naruto's little frog wallet was nice and fat, filled with the cash that was supposed to be his months rent. He knew using this money would get him into trouble, but to Naruto, Kiseki's well being was more important than his broken down apartment. Besides, he could easily go and haggle the old man into lending him some extra money for the month; After all, the old man had always been very generous and considerate, the complete opposite of the other people in the village. Even though Naruto had always had a vague awarness of the Kyuubi Demon's ties with him (for the Kyuubi had constantly harassed the boy in dreams and nightmares) he was not fully aware that he had been used as the vessel for the Demon. Naruto just knew that something concerning him and the fox caused the whole mess with the villagers.

Whatever the case, the treatment he received still burnt a whole into his heart, and a lot of times he was actually unconfident and nervous about his role as a ninja. Apart from his disrupted chakra system, this hidden fear was one of the reasons Naruto had had so much trouble learning basic techniques and skills in school. However, Naruto knew he lived in a tough world, one that wouldn't forgive the weak and unconfident. Therefore he had learned to turn his fear and pain into smiles; a cheerful act to deceive what the villagers thought would be pain. He had learned that pain often acted as a motivation for attackers to fight on, but a smile calmed them down a bit, or at the least, made them leave him alone.

He didn't know the story behind Kiseki though, but what he did know was that there must have been a reason why the orphanage, and some others, disliked her. He also knew that he would not let anyone abuse of the girl like they had when he had found her. If Naruto knew the village well, he was almost certain that someone would try something dangerous, assuming they recognized who Kiseki was. As it stood, however, he would make sure they didn't.

"Onii-chan," Kiseki tapped the older boy's shoulder. For a moment, he had seemed to be spaced out, and she didn't like that look on him, "Are you all right?" She asked worriedly. A barrage of rather foreign feeling's pierced through the girl; concern for others was not something she was used to feeling, for the majority of her life, or what she could remember, she had been forced to only worry about herself, and her own mistreatment.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled back assuringly, calming down Kiseki quickly, "Where would you like to eat?" He asked her, realizing that they had arrived at the business district. "There is 'Natsumo's' over there; I heard they had a good breakfast buffet. Oh, and there is the Ham House, they make bacon and eggs and ham and stuff like that," Naruto explained, raising a finger to his lips as to think of a good description.

Being her quiet and shy self, Kiseki pointed towards what looked like a small indoor restaurant. There was no name on the sign, just a small announcement that said it was the Grand Opening.

"Oh, must be new, want to try this place?"

The girl merely nodded. Naruto decided it would be fine and led the girl through the small crowd and to the restaurant. He stopped and the door and gulped, he knew what would happen if he were to walk in. Instead he reached down for his wallet and pulled out some money. Kiseki curiously looked up at him. He could tell she was wondering about his sudden retreat.

"Uhh… here is some, egh,"

Before he knew it, Kiseki had gripped his hand tighter, and he was dragged into the restaurant.

"Good Day!" Two waiters and an especially enthusiastic woman greeted them as they entered. "Welcome to the "Morning Light's" grand opening!" She exclaimed, "You are our first costumers! So you will all receive a special price today!" She said, shoving both children into a booth right next to a window.

"Y… your not… gonna kick me out?" Naruto's asked puzzled.

"Of course not, why would I?"

"Uh… No reason," Naruto smiled, _'she must not be from around here' _he thought.

"So what can we get you today?" She smiled warmly, "We have brought with us the best foreign cuisine in Konoha. Our breakfast menus include the most perfect fried Suna Toast, prepared with a touch of cinnamon and caramel. It comes with six different delicious flavors of syrup," Kiseki's and Naruto's mouths both started to water, "Or you could choose our Honey Ham Special. It's made up of only the plumpest of pigs, drenched in the sweet taste of natural honey, and cooked with complete love and tenderance, to create the most scrumptious of ham. It comes with…"

"We'll take that," Both kids said simultaneously. The woman laughed and confirmed their order. It wasn't long before the food was prepared. They decided then that this would definitely not be there last visit.

After paying and thanking the older woman for her services, Naruto and Kiseki were able to leave peacefully. Naruto was especially happy, this was the first time he had ever had something as tasty as the Ham they had just eaten. Plus, with the special discount, Naruto was able to hold on to more money than he had originally planned. Seeing the condition of both, the woman had nearly let them eat free, but Naruto had insisted on paying something, and she ended up giving them half price.

The clock struck 8:00 and Naruto and Kiseki were off to find clothes.

It didn't take long to find a nice looking clothing store. Naruto promptly led Kiseki to the young girls department and told her to pick something out.

"I'm not good with style," He told her, and had decided to let her choose what she liked as long as they were warm enough to withstand the winter and strong enough to withstand a beating. He didn't want them wearing out in a month. So being the hobby of many young girls, Kiseki quickly went around picking out, examining, and trying on different types of clothes. They ranged from cute t-shirts, large sweaters, coats, and other things.

Time seemed to go by, but Naruto didn't seem to mind, for the other of the two seemed to really be enjoying the moment. It wasn't but a minute later that he was pulled along with the girl to look at the clothes. She wanted his input, and he would be glad to give it to her. She ran him around the store until she suddenly stopped at a certain rack.

"Ohhh, this is pretty," She said, taking a beautiful purple blouse. It had small decorations on the sleeves and color, and it was heavy enough to be considered winter clothing. Naruto saw the girl's eyes shining in wonder. He spotted a white long skirt, which seemed to match the blouse perfectly. He picked it up and in a bit of uncertainty, told her to go try them on. She took the clothes and rushed to the changing room.

Naruto eyed the price of the clothing, _'Is it really all right for me to spend this much…?' _his mind screamed at him. _'She probably hasn't had something that nice before,' _He thought, _'But…'_

Naruto sighed, but livened up when the girl ran back to him with the clothing on. It was absolutely perfect fit on her, and Naruto though she looked marvelous. The question of the price however, was on his mind.

"Do you like these?"

The girl nodded vehemently, and Naruto took the answer as a strong yes. Naruto sighed again.

"Well, pick out one more outfit and we'll pay for these."

And she did.

After what seemed like hours of searching in really only about forty-five minutes, Naruto and Kiseki went up to pay for the clothing. Much to Naruto's distress, the clothes had cost him everything he had left, and had left him in a pinch for money. Not only that, but the school was all the way on the other side of town and he was already late, so there was no way to make it in time for his exam and take Kiseki back to his home. He didn't want to take her to the school, because he was almost certain that they would recognize her and end up sending her back to where she hated.

To avoid that, Naruto decided to take the girl home first, and then try to make the exam. If he was late, he would make up some kind of viable excuse so that he could take the exam, so it was that worrisome to him. He picked the girl up and with bags and all in hand, he rushed off towards home.

* * *

9:00 Ninja Acadamy

* * *

Iruka checked his watch one more time. He was getting a little anxious about Naruto not showing up, and even though he knew that Naruto didn't like school, Naruto wasn't one to miss the final exam. He had failed the last two graduation exams, but Iruka held that tiny bit of hope that this would be his year. The only problem was that if Naruto hadn't come in before his name was called to participate in the exam, he would be automatically flunked from the exam.

"Alright class!"

Iruka gained the attention of the whole class. He turned to his chalk board picked up his chalk, and began writing down and explaining the rules of the exam.

"The test is simple, you must create three bushins to use as a decoy in your stead. If you fail to make that many perfect replications, then you will fail the exam. I trust you all have practiced and are ready. When your name is called, you will go into room 2-A down the hall. First up, Abo Haroshi," Iruka said, beginning to call down the list of about 50 students.

He figured the test in a whole would only take about an hour, plus the time it took to evaluate each student. Naruto was about the 36 name on that list, so it gave him roughly 35 to 45 minutes to get there before it would be his turn.

"Agito Kazuki" The girl stood up and left for her test.

The role seemed to go fast, and Iruka found himself beginning to worry about Naruto. If by any chance he would show up, Iruka would be sure to chastise the boy as harshly as possible. As much as he pitied the boy, it was no excuse to be missing the final exam of the year.

* * *

9:24 Ninja Acadamy

* * *

"Haruna Sakura," 

"Yes! Here I go. Today I'll prove my worth to Sasuke-kun and ask him to go on a date with me! AYYYYYY!" The girl screeched in anticipation of asking the boy out and in her excitement stomped loudly and proudly down the stairs. "Wish me luck Sasuke-kun!" she said as she passed the boys seat and then gave a piercing glare to her own rival Yamanaka Ino.

The girl walked out of the room and all, especially Sasuke, were calm again. All though he was known as the quiet loner, Sasuke did sometimes enjoy the company of others, and if it weren't for their incredibly annoying shouts, shirks, and cat fights, he would have gladly given one of the girls a chance. But these girls were more interested in looks and love than anything else and in his mind both of those, especially love, were just another stumbling block in his quest for revenge. Sasuke folded his arms once again, and went back to patient waiting.

Despite everyone's calmness and confidence, there was one person in the top row that had a million things racing through her mind. Hyuuga Hinata, heiress of the prestigious Hyuuga clan, fidgeted nervously in her seat. It wasn't that she was afraid of failing her test, but Naruto, the person she secretly admired was absent. She wondered why he was late, and a thousand different answers were racing threw her mind. Was he sick? Was he Hurt? Could he have run away? The thought of Naruto running away didn't cross Hinata's mind as impossible. She had seen the stares and glares her crush had received, and hated every moment of it. Despite that, his trials had given her an even greater admiration for the blonde boy, and everyday she had found herself more and more entranced with the said boy.

"Hyuuga Hinata!"

"Y-yes!" She abandoned her thoughts, and left to take her test.

* * *

9:44 Ninja Academy

* * *

"Uchiha Sasuke!" 

Sasuke gave his usual humph and left to take his test. Needless to say, he was the last person to go before naruto, and Iruka now truly believed that Naruto had decided to skip the test. The Uchiha passed with flying colors and had impressed the teachers with not three, but 10 bushins, a school rookie record.

Sasuke was never one to give the bear minimum of his abilities. He had always been the type to flaunt his skill. He was, after all, a genius, and much like last years Hyuuga Neji, his own pride often led him to show off to his 'lowers'. This had earned him the hate of just about every male in the classroom and the adoration of every single female (with the exception of one) in the academy population. It wasn't as if he cared about these though; he did, however, as anyone would, enjoy the attention.

To Sasuke, popularity was a sign of strength and control. If people liked him, then it would be much easier for him to take advantage of them. It was the exact opposite of his brother Uchiha Itachi, who had used fear to control the people. But wanted nothing to do with that man, and Sasuke had always been the type to find the easiest way out of things. If he wanted something, he wanted it now. In fact, if it were possible, Sasuke would have sold his soul to the Devil for strength, if it got him to his brother's level. Sasuke smirked at the examiner and walked back to the class.

Iruka watched the boy walk to his seat and then sighed. Naruto was no where in sight and his name was next on the list. He paused for a couple more seconds secretly praying that the boy would walk in; but after seeing nothing, he called out the name.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Hinata's ears perked up and she looked towards the door expectantly but nervously. When nothing appeared she dropped her head sadly. She was hoping that if they both passed they would be put on the same team together. However, if things continued the way they were, she knew she would never get that chance.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

No response. Iruka looked around one last time and after seeing nothing marked and 'F' next to the name. He went on to call the next name on the list.

"Yamanaka Ino."

Yes! Here I…" She was interrupted in mid-yell.

"Oi! Uzumaki Naruto is ready to test!" The boy jumped in, seemingly over-excited and totally clueless about what had just happened.

Iruka slapped his forehead and in outrage screamed, "Sit your frieken butt down," scaring everyone, including those outside half to death. Naruto quickly did as he was told, sitting in the only open seat right next to Hinata. He looked her way and after seeing him she blushed and turned away. _'Weird girl' _He thought.

"Naruto, you've failed!" Iruka yelled.

Naruto looked down towards the teacher in shock and confusion, causing him to stumble, fall out of his chair, and knock his head against the back wall. Everyone, with the exception of Hinata and Sasuke, burst out in a laughing fit, causing each of them to miss one of Naruto's rare look's of true sadness.

"W-W-W-W-What, Why?"

Yamanaka Ino had already walked out to take her exam.

"Because you're late, plain and simple."

"W-Wait, isn't there a grace period or something?" Naruto argued.

"Your 45 minutes late, how much time could you possibly need?"

"I have an excuse for…" Naruto fell silent. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to let everyone know of his situation just yet. He knew what Iruka would do; that is, call the Hokage and have Kiseki taken away. He didn't want that; not just for the sake of the girl, but because he thought it was kind of nice to have someone to hang out with after school, or work, or whatever the case may have been. Naruto had never had someone like that, who was there to talk, or at least listen to him when he needed to talk. The idea had already grown fond on him and he wanted to hold on to it, even if it cost him another year in the academy.

"Excuse; well, what is it?"

"N-Nevermind…" Naruto said, sitting down in an unusually calm and sluggish motion, with out continuing the fight. Even Iruka thought that reaction as strange.

Hinata looked towards the boy. She wanted to cry for him. Ever since she had started watching Naruto (that was when he had first entered the academy) she had noticed how difficult of a life he actually lived. She had never seen or heard of his parents, and it wasn't long before she had come to the conclusion that he didn't have any. Seeing this had made her more thankful for her own parents. In a way, she had learned that despite her father's harshness after the death of her mother, he was only thinking of what was best for her, and it was then that she had decided that she would do whatever it took to make her father proud of her (for Naruto's inspiration had already made her stronger and more confident, and she was no longer jealous of her sisters natural talent, she had even beaten her in a fight once).

"I-I'm sorry Naruto," Hinata said, overcoming her shy nature in an attempt to comfort him.

"Huh…? Oh, it's nothing," He answered, giving her what she thought was a forced smile. Without it, Naruto looked as if he would have cried. She didn't wan to let go of the subject, but the last tester came back into the classroom and she was forced to turn away.

"This concludes this year's final exams. Congratulations to all of you who passed and to those of you who didn't," Everyone turned to eye Naruto, causing him to fidget uncomfortably, "Good luck to you next year, we'll see you then. You are dismissed."

With the exception of two, everyone jumped, sighed, or walked away from the class, making their way outside to meet and celebrate with their respective parents. Hinata gave a last glance at the boy next to her (who was seemingly lost in thought) and then walked out with the rest. Naruto was left alone, to think about what had happened.

Iruka finished shuffling some papers on his desk and after putting them in his bag, walked up to Naruto.

"Is there a way to make it up?" The boy asked quietly, his head lying on the desk. "I worked really hard to pass this one…" he formed some seals with his hands and whispered Bushin no Jutsu. Three clones in perfect shape, from, and color appeared in the next three seats posing the same form as Naruto. Needless to say, Iruka was shocked (for the last exams Naruto couldn't even make one bunshin) and almost tripped down the stairs out of sheer surprise. Iruka fell into bewilderment. How in the world could Naruto have been so late? He knew the boy would have done anything to be able to show off, or at least get out of the academy.

"Why were you late?" Iruka asked. There must have been a viable reason for Naruto's tardiness, and Iruka thought that if he could get at least a decent excuse he would be able to convince the school board to let Naruto make up the said exam. Naruto stayed quiet, however, and Iruka was almost sure that he had a good reason. Iruka had learned that Naruto's deepest worries were the ones he never showed, and the ones that were the hardest to pry out. "I need a reason, Naruto, if you give me a good one, I can't at least try to get you the make-up exam."

"I can't say, I really can't," Naruto backed his seat out from the desk and got up to leave, "I'll see you next year, Iruka-sensei," He said, giving his teacher his infamous fox-like grin.

"W-Wiat, Naruto, I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Outside shouts and cries for joy were heard from all. Naruto decided to walk around them, so as not to get involved with anyone. 

"I guess I should go home, nothing to do…"

"Naruto!" A voice interrupted Naruto from his thoughts, and he turned around to his other professor Mizuki. "I heard you missed out on your exams."

"Yeah."

"Not to worry though, the board has allowed a make-up exam, and I have the perfect way to test you."

"What! Really?" Naruto shouted excitedly. Despite the fact that it was a bit unbelievable (and Naruto's lie detectors were going crazy), Naruto felt it best not to question his teacher. Mizuki had been one of the nicer people around him anyway, so he thought it fair to give him a chance.

"Are you interested?" Naruto nodded fervently.

"All right, we'll meet me on the Hokage monument at 2:00 'o clock sharp, any later, and I'll be forced to flunk you. I'll give you your assignment there."

After Mizuki gave Naruto the time and place, he left Naruto to his thoughts and walked back to where Iruka and the other teachers chatted. Naruto, on the other hand, left to get kiseki so that he could take her to get some lunch. He assumed that she had never been to Ichiraku's and decided that that was where they would eat.

* * *

It is said that time flies when you're having fun, and that statement could have been no truer to Naruto. Before he knew it, 2:00 had come around, and Naruto sat on the Yondaime moument waiting for Mizuki to arrive. He had made sure to arrive early, but getting out of the door had been difficult because Kiseki had grappled him and begged him not to go. She finally gave up, however, when he told her how important the meeting was and that he would only be gone for about an hour. 

Naruto heard something shuffle behind him and turned to be greeted by his other sensei Mizuki. After sharing a couple minutes of conversation, Mizuki got serious and cut the chit-chat short.

"Now, this is a very important mission, success depends completely on your assignment." Miszuki pulled out a small scroll and handed it to naruto. He took it, read it, and jumped in surprise.

"This is…"

"That's right, your objective is to steal this scroll," Mizuki said will pointing to the scroll. A hint of sadistic excitement seemed to flood his voice, "This scroll is the most important scroll in Konoha. Steal and meet me in the designated area written in the scroll."

"Well ok, but… isn't this a little exaggerated for a genin exam?" Naruto asked, still a little stifled at the thought of breaking into the Hokage's Office to get a scroll he knew nothing about. He was now totally convinced it was a lie, and wanted to decline the 'mission', but the piercing glare on his sensei's face told him to do otherwise. Apparently Mizuki had caught on to him figuring out the lie. To Naruto, doing as the sensei said seemed more like a question of survival, for the man didn't look too happy. "N—Never mind, I'll do it," he said, giving the sensei his widest smile.

"Good," Mizuki replied with venom in his voice. He had one shot at this, and if his plan were to succeed, he would need to cast the blame of the crime on someone else, and he better to do it on that the Demon boy. Everyone would believe him, and he could get away and act as if nothing had ever happened. "I'll be watching you, thoroughly," The older man got off and seemingly left, but Naruto looked towards the small rocks to see his sensei peering at him, smiling.

"E-he," Naruto gulped nervously and left to town. There was no way of getting out of robbing the scroll now, so Naruto figured he would plan some way to get it. He didn't want to die during the process, and hopefully, if all went well, he could figure out a way to expose Mizuki as well. Naruto stood and left the monument, if there was any value in doing this for him at all, it might as well have been what was written on that scroll. He decided that that was one thing he would do, learn as much as he could, while he had the chance.

Naruto left the streets, intent on not going home. He would have to break his promise to her, for right now it was all he could do to keep her safe. He only hoped she wouldn't hold it against him, because what little trust they each had at the moment would be easy the break, but for her safety he would have to take that chance.

* * *

Hokage's Office 9:00 PM

* * *

"W—What in the world!" 

"Oiroke no Jutsu!" An old man dressed in ceremonial Hokage clothing screamed in horror, or one could argue, excitement. A large stream of blood exited his nose, and the poor man passed out due to blood loss.

"Hehe! It even works on the Hokageeee," Naruto exclaimed. He looked around hoping to find the scroll and gagged when he saw the huge mess that plagued the Hokage's home. Scrolls and what looked like important papers lay everywhere, even some of the Hokage's most valuable possessions seemed to be thrown on the floor. Naruto stepped over some of the junk.

"This is…" Naruto sighed, before putting on a devious smile, "Must have come at a bad time, Oh well, not much time before the Anbu figure it out," he said, before going through all of the scrolls. Stepping over a few items, and even placing some back where they belonged, he ended up walking over to a particular cabinet. It looked like it was made out of some kind of fine wood, and had thick glass casing surrounding it.

"For a 'hidden scroll', they sure don't hide it well," He said, easily breaking the glass and taking the large scroll. Naruto placed it on his back and walked to the unconscious man lying on the floor, "Sorry Oji-san, but I need this scroll."

With that Naruto was out the window, and off to the forest. He knew the commotion would start in only a few hours, and he wanted as much time as possible to read the scroll before he had to give it up. He only hoped that where he decided to hide, Mizuki wouldn't be the first to find him there; that would certainly be a disaster. Naruto had noticed that the man had abandoned his watch on him, and had taken the time to find a different place to hide the scroll. If all worked out, then maybe Iruka would find him first.

"Ugh… What is that kid doing now," The 3rd asked, pulling himself up and bringing his hand to his head. He looked around the room, surely Naruto hadn't stolen anything, the Hokage knew he wasn't that kind of…

"He didn't,"

Sarutobi's eye's had settled on the wooden cabinet and his wonders were confirmed when the man saw the shattered glass scattered all over the floor.

"No!" In his state of shock, the Hokage rushed out the door, quickly arriving to the nearest Chunin guard.

"You! Call every Chuunin in this village," He screamed at the sleeping guard, waking him instantly, "I want this entire village searched for Uzumaki Naruto! Do it NOW!"

The Chunin jumped back in a state of fear, and quicker than a heart beat, he was off to get the Chunin.

* * *

9:30 deep in the forests of Konoha

* * *

Naruto sat down by a tree next to an old shack. It looked like someone had lived there a long time ago; some of the shack had even rotted away. The area he chose was only about 500 meters away, but, it was strategically positioned to where the view that Mizuki would see would be obstructed by the tree he sat under. Naruto opened the scroll; he would take his few hours to learn the jutsus. 

"Okay!" He read down the list, "Number 1: Tenpa Jousai, Hmmm weird name… it's not a justu?" Naruto looked at in wonder and read about the technique.

'**Tenpa Jousai – Bloodlimit of the xxxxxxx Clan.'**

"Hmmm, that's weird, the name is scratched out."

'**Tenpa Jousai: Katon Element. Last used by the exceptional kunoichi xxxxxxxx Mamiko. It uses the power of fire to enhance physical speed and power and the strength and effectiveness of katon jutsus. No hand seals have been used to active or use the technique, thus the user must obtain Tenpa Jousai through lineage. Although not as renowned as the Uchiha's Sharingan or the Hyuuga's Byakugan, Tenpa Jousai maximizes the use of Katon based jutsu's sometime increasing its power by as much as 60 percent. **

**The Last known survivor of the xxxxxxx clan disappeared shortly upon the arrival of Kyuubi no Yukai. Cause of death occurred during child birth. No other information is currently available.**

**Cause/Effect: The user experiences a change in eye and hair color (red) throughout the jutsu's activation. A cloud of burning ashes surrounds the user. There exists no explanation for these reactions, but studies show no physical harm is conceived. **

**Symptoms: Chakra depletion may occur.'**

Naruto found the information interesting. He wondered why the names were scratched out. Could the technique have been somehow related to Kiseki? Maybe it was one of the reasons she was hated by the village. The crossed out name seemed to suggest that the clan had been banished. In Konoha, it was common to cross out the names of those who had abandoned, rebelled, or committed high treason. Perhaps this was a lead on Kiseki's past. Naruto didn't know, but he did etch the though into the back of his mind. The only thing that bothered him about this theory was the fact that the mother or 'last surviving clan member' had died during child birth. There would be no reason to destroy a clans place in history because of a simple child birth defect.

Naruto decided not to bother with it, and read on. He figured his time was running out, and he wanted to maximize his time with the scroll.

"Kage Bunshin no Justsu," He read, "Oh great, a jutsu based off of the bunshin technique. Well I suppose I can't complain."

'**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Jounin Level. Kage Bunshin creates a flesh and blood replica of its user. Although the clone is an exact replica, it cannot act on its own as it only works as a second fighter. Half of the user's Chakra is infused within the clone. Thus, the more clones created, the less effective the clones may become. Activation works as fallows: Boar, Ox, Chicken, Ox, Chicken, Boar, Snake, Tiger, Ox, Dragon, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Boar, Ox, Chicken, Tiger, and Dragon.'**

Naruto formed each hand seal respectively. Repeating and memorizing the pattern written on the scroll. He didn't stop until he was able to form each seal quickly but correctly. However despite many attempts, and many failures, Naruto saw no improvement in the skill, and decided to read on about the technique.

'**Although it is recommended, chakra control is not required for use of Kage Bushin no Jutsu. Precise timing and a large chakra capacity are what enable this jutsu to work. The most recommended practice of this technique is repetition.'**

"Well, I'm doing it that."

Once again Naruto began to form hand seals, hoping that this time, the technique would work.

* * *

Iruka was getting pissed. How could he not have realized it, he knew exactly where Naruto would have gone. For heavens sake, he would have gone there too if he were a kid. He raced towards the forest, praying that somehow Naruto hadn't done something stupid with the scroll. He knew the most important secret was held in that scroll. It was the secret that could release the Kyuubi at any moment. No way would he let that happen, for Iruka did not want to face the wrath of that monster again. 

One question plagued his mind, however, why would he steal the scroll? In fact, how did he even know about the scroll? That had bugged him ever since he heard that the scroll had disappeared. Any mention of the Kyuubi and that scroll were banned by the Hokage 12 years ago. It did cross his mind that Naruto had been set up, but by whom, and what evidence would he have if he found this person?

He had to admit, whoever was truly behind the theft of the scroll played his cards right. Iruka knew that instant blame would be shifted onto Naruto. However, if he could get just enough evidence, the maybe he could prove Naruto's innocence.

_POOOOOF!_

Iruka heard the loud sound. It came from exactly where he had thought Naruto would be. He arrived quickly, only to see Naruto smiling proudly and confidently at him.

"Found you!"

"Oh! Iruka-sensei, Iruka-sensei!" He shouted, seemingly unaware of the current happenings, "Mizuki sensei told me if I learned a technique on this scroll that he would let me graduate!"

"Mizuki? He's thone one who told you this? Egh! Naruto Watch out!"

"Eh… What?"

Three sharp projectiles sped quickly towards Naruto. The boy seemed to have no way of escaping and from pure reflexes put his arms in front of his face. Naruto braced himself for impact, but when he felt none, he opened his eyes in shock.

"Iruka-sensei!" The shurikens had sliced Iruka legs, and deep the cuts left the older man seemingly immobile.

"Mizuki! So you're the traiter!" The two below looked up to find the older man staring directly at him. The man laughed at them.

"Haha, you demon, you thought you could hide from me?"

"Demon?" Naruto asked.

"Hehehe… Ahaha… You still don't know?"

"Mizuki no!"

"No what?"

"Did you know," Mizuki looked Iruka straight in the eye, as if taunting him, "That twelve years ago the Kyuubi no Yukai did not die?"

"…"

"The demon was sealed into a baby boy… hehehe"

"Mizuki!"

"You mean?"

"That's right, you are the Kyuubi no Yukai!" Mizuki shouted crazily, his sanity seemed to have disappeared. Iruka was terrified, the one law never to be broken, the secret never to be told, especially to this boy, had just been broken.

"Didn't you ever wonder why people hated you! You're the demon, Kyuubi… and I'll kill you tonight!"

"Naruto don't listen to him!"

"I see… So that's why… they hated me… I always wonder why I had the strange dreams… of him."

"You demon, will die by my hand!"

"Naruto run!"

Mizuki pulled a large shurikan from his back. He looked at the sharp steal, admired it's power, and proceeded to lick the edge.

"This… This weapon will kill the Kyuubi no Yukai!"

Mizuki pulled his arm back, reading to fire the large fuuma shuriken. A trickle of drule fell from his lips in anticipation as he threw the shuriken with as much power as he could muster. Iruka tried to react, but the cuts in his legs were too deep, and he found himself stuck in place. Naruto seemed too make no movements, and the scarred sensei was left with no other option but yell.

"Naruto! MOVE!"

Naruto watched as the projectile moved closer to him, and in the last second was able to jump away.

"I… I won't die yet!" He said, seemingly shaken up. The Shuriken nipped his arm, and small stream of blood spilled out of it. He looked at the wound; he knew he would not live if he fought out of fear.

"Hahaha! So you evaded," The other man said, shifting into his own fighting stance. "Then I'll kill you with my own hands."

The Chunin attack with a speed unknown to Naruto, and the boy was to slow to react to the incoming punch.

"Ugghhh!" Naruto's clenched his stomach in pain, and it wasn't half a second more, another hit him on his solar plexus sending him back. A trickle of blood fell from his mouth, and the boy knew things weren't looking up for him.

"Two punches made me bleed this much…" He said, before a kick was flying his way again. It him in his ribs, and he felt the bone crack.

"Naruto! Mizuki, I'll kill you!"

"Shut up! You're in the way!" Mizuki lashed back. He rushed towards the ninja, and chopped the older man in the neck. Iruka pass out.

Mizuki turned back to eye the beaten boy once again. He laughed as he could feel the boy's fear. "You should have just handed the scroll over faster, you death wouldn't have been so painful," He said.

Naruto coughed, more blood exciting his system, "I-I won't die here…" He began racing through the motions he had memorized once more, "I w-won't forgive you for harming Iruka-sensei, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

At his shout, eight clones suddenly appeared around the boy. Naruto looked up with satisfaction.

"Kage Bunshin eh? It won't be enough." Mizuki spoke cockily, "Our levels are just to far apart… Though I admit, had this been a real exam, you would have passed."

Mizuki charged the eight bunshins, easily dodging the first punch. He landed on his hands did an summersault and released a spin kick on the bunshin, taking it out.

"1 down,"

Two more charged at him, this time with more success. The first bunshin managed to brush the man's cheek before receiving a back kick to the body and being thrown in to its ally. Mizuki rubbed his jaw at the pain he felt from the punch. He snarled in disgust, that must have just been a lucky shot.

Four more Naruto's launched themselves at Mizuki. The first jumped in the air, punching towards the man's face. Mizuki blocked it but was met with fist to the stomach. He snarled and grabbed both Naruto's and rammed their heads together. They disappeared.

"Err, It's not working," Naruto said desperately, this was all he had left.

"We can play these games all day kid." Mizuki annoyance was apparent, "Those 2 Bunshins you have left aren't going to help you," He said running towards them and punching them both in the stomach, "You're all that's left… hehe… hahah!"

The man ran towards the boy and delivered a reverse punch, spin kick combination, throwing Naruto into a tree.

"I'll finish this now…" the man said, pulling out his last kunai.

Naruto found himself losing consciousness, the dark light inviting him into paradise. "I—I d—don't want to die yet," Naruto coughed out, more blood flowing from his mouth. "K—Kise—" Naruto life seemed to flash before his eyes, and in his fit of fear and exhaustion, a white light seemed to plague his vision.

"_Naruto-chan!"_

Mizuki walked closer and closer to Naruto, enjoying each staggering gasp for air coming from the demon vessel.

"_Naruto-chan!"_

'_That voice… what is it?"_

"_Naruto-chan, you don't have to worry,"_

'_It's so comforting…'_

_The form of a beautiful woman appeared before Naruto. She had long black hair that seemed to match her eye's own beauty. She wore a long, elegant dress, white in color. The woman almost looked angelic._

"_Naruto-chan, Don't worry, I'm here for you, I'm always here."_

'_Who… are you?'_

"_Shhhhh," the woman laid Naruto's head on her lap. It almost felt like a dream. "You'll be fine, you can win."_

'_Y-you mean… I'm still alive?' Naruto looked at woman, some how it felt as if he had known her for all his life, as if she was a part of him. _

_She smiled at him._

"_You'll always live, because I'm with you. We are with you, we are in your blood."_

'_My blood, you mean?"_

_The woman nodded._

"_Tenpa Jousai…"_

'_Tenpa Jousai…'_

"TENPA JOUSAI!"

A deep flash of light surrounded Naruto's body. A surge, power that he had never felt before, flowed through his body. Around his body, ashes seemed to appear and then dissipate. It had happened in an instant, no time at all.

"W—What is this?" Mizuki said wide-eyed. He was scarred… but why? He couldn't tell, he had just pummeled the boy minutes ago. "No… no! It's the Kyuubi! Get away, Get away monster!"

Naruto's now crimson eyes peered at the man, stretching deep into his soul.

"Tenpa Jousai… The flames of heaven."

"F…flames of heaven?"

Naruto, without any hesitation, activated a technique. He had never used it, but something told him that it was right.

"Katon! Tenpa Jousai no Jutsu!"

A large fire erupted from Naruto's body. Each strand and flame speed quickly and accurately towards his frozen sensei. The man just peered, and in his fear, never felt the burning spectacle that him. Darkness surrounded the man, and felt himself being taken away by it.

The bloodlimit subsided and Naruto was back to normal. The battle had ended, but not with out casualty, and Naruto fell to the ground in exhaustion between the two Chuunin.

"Well…" He panted, "I guess I can throw this out of Kiseki's past."

* * *

Morgri: Wow, now that was frieken long; 8,125 words for you guys to enjoy. I realize the ending was kind of rushed, and that Naruto's "bloodline" could have been better. But hey, left face it, it's far less corny that some of the things other people have come up with. Shouldn't be to many errors either. 

Angeles (sp?): I updated When Did You Change just for you, enjoy it

Oiroke no Jutus – Sexy No Jutsu

Tenpa Jousai – Just some random thing I came up with… but for the sake of it, we'll call it heavens flame…

Feed back is appreciated. Bash me, Hate me, Love me, tell me what can be improved, what is good… It's all help full.

Enjoy


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, and I'm glad I don't, otherwise I would be the result of the terrible fillers that are playing on TV right now, and all of you would kill me…

Summary: October 13th has never been kind to Naruto. But what if this time he gets a gift he will never forget, and finds out that miracles aren't always what one expects them to be.

AU (alternate Universe) there will be OoC through the story on some characters.

"Denotes speech"  
'_Denotes thought'  
_Shift in Time or Seen  
_**Flash Back**_

Miracle

What was the typical quiet and dreamcast night of Konoha, where many had already departed from reality to their own fantasy filled worlds, had for many souls become a night of difficult situations and mental unrest. The first soul, a mere twelve year old blonde headed boy, stood happily despite nearly losing his life to a traitor whom had exploited what had now become his deepest secret. The Kyuubi, who Naruto had met several times in cold and harsh nightmares, dwelled inside of him; and despite this knowledge, Naruto felt at rest knowing now that there was a much deeper meaning to himself than just an abandoned orphan with no home and that no one wanted. Conversely, however, he began to feel true fear of the horrific beast that had threatened him time and again and had been the source of many sleepless nights.

Naruto now stood over the bloody, broken body of a conscious Mizuki. He looked at the man sadly, but not with pity. The look in the traitor's eyes spoke colors to Naruto and he knew Mizuki was a beaten man; not only in his mind and body, but in his spirit. Years of feeling the same dissapointment and pain had screamed this at Naruto and he knew there would be nothing left for Mizuki but the clothes on his back and the disrespect from the villagers. His honor had been stripped away with no way to recover it and unless he had enough drive in him to fix his life, or atleast persue his goal, nothing would change, and Mizuki would live the rest of his life locked up in Konoha's prison cells breaking rocks and digging ditches.

Iruka had awoken just in time to see the last bit of commotion and on the grounds of having not only created a Jounin level Kage Bunshin, defeated a Chunin level ninja, but also using a jutsu he had never seen or much less even heard of, Iruka decided to pass Naruto with out the consent of either the other teachers or the school board. He knew it was a decision that could and possibly would get him fired, but the man felt that Naruto had proven his aptitude as a ninja far much more than any student had on the test that morning. He motioned for Naruto to walk to him, told the boy to close his eyes, and then tied his own headband around Narutos forehead. He promised Naruto a newer headband when he got the chance, but told him that that one would have to suffice for the moment. He then told him to go home so he could rest and make it to the team selection class the next morning.

All of this, as important as it was to Naruto, was only second to his interest; for he knew that there was one other person whom had not had a difficult fight, a near death experience, or discovered an incredible secret about herself. She had, however, had to indure a broken promise. Perhaps she was the most troubled soul of them all and upon arriving to his home, this notion was confirmed to Naruto who stopped just to look and frown. Admist the blood on his shirt, the headband around his neck, and the burns on his hands, only one thing mattered and she was here, alone, left to wonder if she had been orphaned again. A feeling Naruto knew all to well and a feeling he never wanted her to have again.

Kiseki had a fallen asleep right next to the door and Naruto silently reprimended the girl for not even covering herself against the cold chills that flowed through his old weathered down apartment door. ´_Atleast a blanket,´_ he sighed, before picking her up, only to be suprised when she hugged him tight and muttered out the word "Onii-chan". What was once a small frown on her face turned into a slight smile and Naruto was happy that she seemed to be sleeping peacefully once again. He carried her to his room, placed her in his bed, and covered up with a warm blanket. Depending on how long she had been sleeping at the door, he was almost certain that she would wake up with a cold in the morning and that he would be the one to blame the cause on. Atleast he had some medicine stored away in the cases of sickness. Naruto, and he was now sure that it was because the Kyuubi, had rarely ever gotten sick, and if he did, the symptons only lasted for a day and sometimes not even that.

After checking on Kiseki one last time, Naruto left to clean himself. He threw his clothes on the ground and sighed when he saw all the tears and holes in his clothes. His jacket was pretty much useless now and his pants were ripped on both sides of the knees and had gash across the zipper. His black shirt, however, was still in tact and he was relatively relieved that he wouldn't have to buy a new one of those either. He had already spent alot of money providing Kiseki with clothes and food and he was starting to find it increasingly difficult to find the money to pay the months rent, electrical bill, and water bill. He secretly hoped that the Genin pay he would start recieving the next month would be enough to cover the all the expenses. If not he still had one thing of value.

Naruto didn't want to buy more clothes, but it seemed like he had no other option to do so. And with his current fundings, he would have to ask the old man for some help. He knew he couldn't afford anything himself; but hopefully, if he was lucky, the Hokage would help him get atleast something decent to wear. If all things went well in his starting Genin career, perhaps later he would have Kiseki pick some clothes out for him, he needed something new and refreshing anyway. Naruto would never tell any body, but he was getting tired of the clothes he wore now, even though they had served their purpose over the last few years. He knew one thing though; he wouldn't ever sell _that_ to pay his bills. _That _being the necklace Kiseki had shown interest the other day, the necklace he wore now.

Naruto removed the beautifulnecklace and peered at it for a moment, becoming a bit entranced with its mystical shine. The different reflections created a dancing color of light in Naruto's eyes. The hokage had told him that Naruto had been found with the necklace when he was just born and that it was a probability that his mother had given it to him just before she had died. Since he had learned this as a child the item quickly became one of Naruto's most prized posessions; especially since it was the only object Naruto had that was in some way connected to his parents. Naruto wasn't sure how, but he hoped that one day he could use the necklace to find his parents, or atleast, figure out more about them. He gripped the necklace tight before carefulling hanging it on a nail that was above the towl rack.

Naruto hoped jumped into the shower and after finishing quickly, he grabbed the torn clothes and threw them in the dumpster. He decided it was way to late, or early, to do anything with the bloodied shirt and in stead of going through all the trouble of washing it, he just put on a pair of his boxers, the shirt kiseki had used the day before, and the same old shorts he had given her to sleep in the day she arrived. He gave a quick chuckle at the fact that he would have to where the same clothes in the morning and after laughing at himself, jumped into bed and faded to his own dream world. He was sure he would have a happy dream tonight, for it was just one event that he could add to his small list of happy memories.

* * *

"Onii-chan!" 

"Eh! Wha..." Naruto jumped about a mile after hearing Kiseki's loud scream and then shirked when she put him in a death hug. He rubbed his eyes drousily and after getting the blurr out of his vision, he was able to pry the little girl of him. She looked up at him with teary eyes and a small frown on her face.

"I... I thought you had left me." She spoke quietly. Naruto looked her in the eyes and smiled brightly at the girl, before putting his hand on her shoulders.

"I'm not like the others," He said, "I won't leave you, I promise."

"You promised me that yesterday," She pouted.

"Hey I'm here right, aren't I! This time, it's a real promise!" He chuckled, giving her two thumbs up and a painstackingly large smile. Her frown dissapeared and she began to giggle along with Naruto.

He took her hand and lifted her off the bed; he pointed her to the shower making sure that this time she knew how to turn on the cold water. Naruto then went to the kitchen and took a couple of bowls and a box of cereal, which he had bought during yesterday's shopping cherade, out of the cupboard. He still had a fresh carton of milk in his small fridge, the carton containing just enough to last him untill he could get them some more. The other jug of milk had been spoiled and Naruto just dumped out in the sink.

When Kiseki came back, fully dressed in the new clothing she had picked out the other day, Naruto offered her one of the bowls which she accepted whole-heartedly.

Naruto was hesitant, but he realized that he would have to tell her that he was going to school for a couple of hours and that she would have to wait her. As he thought, she began to put up quite a ruckus about staying with him and finally he told her that she could come with him to school. His one condition was that she would have to hide outside. When she argued this Naruto explained that if they found her with him they would probably ship her back to the opharnage and that niether of the two wanted that to happen. Those reasons seemed to satisfy her and she agreed that she would hide, but...

"I have to be able to see you!" she said.

Naruto slapped his forehead.

"Fine, I happen to know the perfect place," He said.

Despite the rukus, deep down Naruto and Kiseki both were happy and niether minded the conditions that were set upon them, they new that it was for the best. Besides, with her in view, Naruto could watch her and make sure that nothing would happen to her. He was confident that he could beat any kidnappers, especially with his new found abilities. Although he would rather have it kept as a trump card and only use it as necesarry (for it would just be stupid to reveal the technique to everyone in just one setting), he felt that Kiseki would be a more than acceptable reason to use the jutsu and that he would rather have her alive than some stupid jutsu kept a secret. He decided that he could use Kage Bunshin as a, "Haha, look at me," supriser instead.

After eating, Naruto took his black shirt, washed it, and hung it up to dry before motioning for Kiseki to get ready to go. He told her to get her jacket and she ran to the room to do so. When she got back he took it and fastened it, making sure that it was on her tight so that she would stay worm.

"Does it feel comfortable?" He asked, recieving a quick nod from Kiseki who was busy tediously brushing off any dust that had gotten on the jacket. She paused for a moment and briefly looked up to where he stood and with a determined frown tugged at his shirt.

"You will be cold."

He peeked down at what he was wearing and scratched his head, "Uhh... I don't get cold that easily," He said. She looked at him in disbelief; she really didn't buy that for second.

All though it was only a half-truth, Naruto was sure that he could handle a couple hours of cold weather. He had no worries about getting sick and if things got too bad he would just go ahead and spend the money for a new jacket. However, since he would be inside most of the time, he insisted to himself that it wouldn't matter anyway. Kiseki would be the one out side for the while, so as long as she was clothed enough to stay warm outside, then everything would work out.

He took her hand before walking out side and locking the door to his apartment. School started at nine so he left with plenty of time to spare so that he wouldn't be late for the team selection class like he had been for the Genin exam. If they went fast enough, he could also get Kiseki into her "hiding spot" before anyone spotted him helping her and thinking that he was doing something bad or mischevious.

Naruto bent down and motioned for Kiseki to get on his back. It would be faster to jump across roof tops than walking down the crowded streets. It would also avoid any unnecessary confrontations, which Naruto knew would happen had he taken the roads. The way to the academy was straight through the shopping districts and no matter how hard he tried to stay out of trouble some kind of fight, whether between drunks and villagers or something involving him, always started. Naruto loathed too think about what they would do to him down there, especially with a little girl riding on his back. They might think he was kidnapping her or something. _'Best avoid that situation'_ he thought.

It was only about twenty minutes later that they arrived at the school. Kiseki got off of Naruto's back and after a few minutes of peeking around, he took her to the old swing that rested in the school yard. Being an evergreen tree, it had enough leaves to obscure the girl from view and it pointed directly to the window that was next to Naruto's row. The people who sat next to him didn't usually peer out the window anyway. Hinata didn't talk much, so Naruto doubted that she would say anything if she saw Kiseki and Kiba's view would be obstructed by he and Hinata. None of the teachers could see the tree and unless the girl somehow miracly inhibited large amounts of chakra at her age, then she wouldn't be sensed either.

Naruto helped Kiseki up the tree and told her the class would a take couple of hours. He had no idea why this was, but the class was well worth it since a team was involved and it was his next step to becoming Hokage. He asked Kiseki if she would be alright up there and when the girl responded he gave her a thumbs up and left to his classroom. He had seen no one there as he entered and pressumed his plan had worked. He walked up to the seat next to the window, waved at Kiseki, and then sat to wait. Class would start in fifteen minutes.

* * *

Kakashi, along with old man Sarutobi, sat at the small table in Naruto's kitchen. Both eyed the two dirty bowls that lay next to each other on the table and while Sarutobi had a mischivious grin etched on his face, Kakashi was less than amused.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Kakashi spoke, eyeing the folder in front of him, "I was under the impression that he was orphaned," He said, "I didn't know you had someone taking care of him."

"Hmmm...?"

"What? He's not alone, obviously."

"You can't judge a book by it's cover Kakashi, you of all people should know that." Sarutobi said, briefly picking up the two bowls and taking them the sink. He turned on some water, added some soap, and patiently washed the two bowls. "Naruto takes good care of himself, I would say."

"I would have never guessed."

"I think there is alot more to Uzumaki Naruto than you give credit."

"Credit will be given where credit is due, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, opening up his issue of the "Icha Icha Paradise" series. He scrolled through the pages and giggled a bit before getting serious again, "We'll see what kind of impression he gives during my trial exam."

"Don't get cocky Kakashi, he just might suprise you."

The old man turned on some water to rinse the soapy dishes.

"The Uchiha brat, a lovestruck little girl, and the source of all of Konoha's hate. I can't catch a break eh?" Kakashi sighed, pushing his chair back underneath the table, "What an annoying team."

The Hokage Chuckled, "If I recall, your team was about the same make up, was it not, Kakashi?" He said drying his hands off with the towl that sat by the sink, "You are best suited to bring about the most of their potential, individually and as a team."

"Teaching was never a talent of mine."

The Hokage took a glass from the cupboard and sat it on a table. He then took substantial amount of money and placed under the cup. "I could change it; but, you might regret it more."

"To who?"

"Replace the Haruno girl with the Hyuuga heir."

"A Hyuuga, an Uchiha, and the Uzumaki kid, that might be an interesting one."

"I won't be lying when I tell you that she might be more difficult than the Haruno." The Hokage said, pulling out the folders containing information on Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata.

"According to her profile, the Haruno has above average chakra control and an apparent nack for genjutsu, someone who could develop well under Kurenai." Kakashi said grabbing Hinata's profile while reading the other.

"Yes, yes, she was my first choice for the girl; but, she also seemed to fit in well with the Uchiha, someone to soften him up."

"Oh, but what about the Uzumaki boy?"

"Unfortunately, he would accept friendship from anyone. All though I believe the Hyuuga would be a better suit for him."

"So why choose someone that would benefit the Uchiha more than the Uzumaki kid?"

"It's better for the village." The Hokage said, taking Uchiha Sasuke's folder from the older man and pulling out a certain page. "He's mentally unstable and with out proper direction, he could become a threat to Konoha in the future."

He handed the sheet of paper to Kakashi. On it was written the perscription of some drugs for depression, insomnia, and other mental disorders that had result from the massacre six years ago. Kakashi grimaced at seeing all the treatment the boy had recieved only a couple of years ago. The Hokage was right, the Uchiha needed a distraction. A friend, a rival, and someone who had grown up the same way Sasuke had. It seemed that, Sakura and Naruto were spot on for the job. However, he realized that putting the Haruno with the Uchiha would result in much slower advancement for the girl. He wasn't great for genjutsu and the girl would just focus all of her attention on the raven haired boy. Atleast with the other girl each would have a fair and balanced training program.

"Putting her with the Uchiha will just slow down her own development. Her crush won't distract her if he's not near her."

"Well it's up to you, Kakashi. I trust your judgement."

"We best be going to the academy, Hokage-sama, don't want to be late, now do we?"

"Me late, I laugh at the thought; it's you I am worried about."

Kakashi took one more look at the students before opening the small window in Naruto kitchen. He jumped outside with the Hokage and before any one could blink, the two had vanished.

* * *

Kiseki eyed Naruto's row sharply. The students had started to crowd the school about ten minutes ago and she tried her best to stay quiet and still, especially when the adults walked by. She prayed that she wouldn't get caught and for a moment she began to wonder if going with him had been a bad idea after all. However, she trusted him and was confident that if anything happened, he would be there to help her. He already had been once.

"What are you doing here?" Kiba barked at Naruto, "I thought you failed."

"They, uh, gave me a make up exam, and I passed it."

"The dead beat loser!"

"Whatever Dog face!"

"Fox head!"

"K-Kiba!" Hinata broke off the piercing glares that both boys were giving each other.

"What! Why do you alway defend him?" Kiba said crossing his arms and nodding his head when his puppy Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Co- Congratulations on passing... Naruto-kun," Hinata stammered; her cheeks turning redder each passing second.

"Uh, thanks Hinata!" He said, giving her a genuine smile. The girl sitting by Shino gave a smile and waved at him as well. She was one person who was actually nice to him in class and Naruto wondered if he should invite her to dinner to celebrate later. Perhaps she would accept, unlike Sakura had the countless other times.

A loud bell rang startling Kiseki and almost making her fall out of the tree; however, with some quick thinking she gripped the branches tighter and was able hold on. Naruto had seen everything and almost jumped out the window until he saw her grab the branch. She noticed him sigh a breath of relief before motioning for her to go up higher in the tree. Naruto quickly scanned the room from side to side to make sure no one had seen the small display that happened outside. Iruka found his uneasiness a bit odd, but decided to leave alone since class had just started.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"I-It's nothing, ehehe..." Naruto responded, scratching the back of head.

Iruka quickly silenced all the rukus going on in the classroom. After an earpiercing scream and a couple peices of thrown chalk, everyone was finally facing his direction and put their attention into his words.

"Well obviously for many of you, this will be the last class you will be attending at this academy. All of us teachers would like to congratulate you all for being one of the most successful classes in recent history. It is the first time in 10 years that every student has managed to graduate and we can certainly say that each and everyone of you worked very hard to attain this honor." Iruka proceeded to clap and eventually the whole class was giving each other a hand.

"As customary of the academy, each year before the students are placed on their teams, an award is handed out to the most oustanding rookie of the class. This year had some incredible competition, with strong showing from Aburame Shino, Haro Kumiko, and Uchiha Sasuke. This is based on individual porformances in all areas of the curriculum: on the field training, off the field training, theory, and practical examination, these students made it to the top of their class."

"Tch, no doubt Mr. Perfect Uchiha over there won it," Kiba whispered silently to Hinata, who just nodded in aggreement.

"All three of these students finished within one point of each other, so each should be shown alot of respect!" Iruka said a bit too excitedly in the student's points of view. "Please give a large round of applause to Uchiha Sasuke, who is the Rookie of the Year!"

Alot of forced applause among the guys and deafening cheers from the girls caused Sasuke to smirk a bit and when he recieved the award he gave a look of superiority to the other two in competition with him. Kumiko glared at the boy and then whispered a plan of assassination into Shino's ear causing him to nod and then tell her to ignore him instead. Naruto just put an invisible kunai to his head and acted out a suicide attempt. She laughed at that.

"Alright, now for what you guys have patiently been waiting for." Iruka said.

Naruto looked out the window to check on Kiseki. She imitated his thumbs up and quickly grabbed the large branch she was on again.

"I will list three names per team. Each of you called will wait for your Jounin-sensei in this room or where ever instructed otherwise." Several of the students to a deep breath of excitment, itching to hear their names called.

Outside Naruto saw the many faces of the jounin who might have been his next instructor. Infront front of them walked the Hokage proudly and Naruto gasped when he saw the man look up towards the tree where Kiseki hid. To his relief, however, the Hokage turned his head back around. He looked up at Naruto and waved causing the boy to snap his head back towards his teacher, the man outside just chuckled and walked into the academy.

"Team 3: Miyamoto Mai, Katamori Renji, and Dioudoji Ken. Please meet your Jounin-sensei in room 107b." The three students got up and left.

Teams four, five, and six, where announced rather quickly, and the number of students left in the room began to diminish signficantly. Iruka was about to call out the next team but was interupted when the Hokage came in. He and Iruka went off to the side and after exchanging some papers. The Hokage seemed to tell Iruka whatever was going on and what he should do. Naruto guessed it had something to do with the teams, but he wasn't sure. After a few minutes many of the students were beggining to get impatient, especially Kiba who just yelled "THIS IS CRAP!" at one point. Iruka just ignored them nonchallantly and listened to the Hokage's words. He seemed to nod his head at some words and frown at others. The Hokage knew best however and after the Hokage bowed and walked away, Iruka went back to the front.

"All right guys, sorry for that small interuption. Team 7 consisting of," Iruka peeked down at the list; this team would be pure hell for whoever got them, "Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto jumped up like crazy person and in his excitment yelled "That's me." Iruka threw a piece of chalk to his head effectivily shutting him up.

Hinata had begun to chant _'Pick me, pick me, pick me'_ in her head.

"Hyuuga Hinata," He said, with Hinata effectively repeating the same event that happened with Naruto in her mind, "And Uchiha Sasuke!"

"NOOO!" Four students shouted at the same time. Ino and Sakura were pissed and they started a harsh verible attack on Sasuke's two new teammates. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and sat quietly. He didn't need teammates anyway, it was just a small stumbling block in the way. He had had much worse and the dobe and the girl weren't going to get in his way.

"AHEM!" Iruka couged, catching their attention, "As I was saying, please meet you Jounin-sensei in room 104a."

The the respective students left for the room.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke sat waiting for their sensei. All three were getting impatient and after the second hour of waiting, Naruto got up and walked to the door.

"I'll be right back; I got to check on something." He said hurriedly, sparking Hinata's interest.

She peered at the boy questioningly. As much as she wanted to wait for their new sensei, she had to admit that even she was getting bored that she would rather do something productive than sit in a classroom and wait. She thought for a second and gathered up her own courage, "M-may I go with you?"

"That probably wouldn't be the best idea."

"Oh..." She said a bit dissapointed. She had hope to take walk with the boy to wherever he was going so that she could get to know him better, or visa versa.

"I... Well, it's just probably... It's a secret sorry."

Even Sasuke was getting intersted now and though he didn't show it, he wanted to know what was going on with Naruto.

"N-no, i-it's ok, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked the shy girl and was a bit distrought at her saddened face. He hated making people unhappy and it was even worse that she had been very nice to him through out his entire time in the academy. He wanted to trust her, to know that if someone found out about it the secret would be safe, but he wasn't sure if she was the right person to tell. Naruto thought it over and sighed. He had already sparked interest when he told them it was a secret and he knew that either way one of them would be looking to figure it out. He looked at the girl and scratched his head.

"F-Fine you can come, but mark my words... if the secret slips then there will be..."

"N-no, I-I won't tell."

He walked out the door, her in persuite and went outside of the school. Most of the students had already either gone home or to train with their new sensei's and he hoped Kiseki had been able to remain put in the tree. Hinata breifly wondered where they were going, but before she could ask Naruto stopped.

"Kiseki, you up there?"

"Y-Yes!" The girl said, seemingly a little flustered, "I want to come down now, Onii-Chan!"

Hinata looked at Naruto in bisbelief. Naruto had a sister, since when? She wondered how she could have missed it after intently watching him for over a year. She felt a bit dissapointed in her self for not being able to recognize that and turned to Naruto, "You have a sister?"

"You could say that, I guess," He said, "Jump down and I'll catch you!"

"Oook!"

Hinata looked up to see the little girl. She looked completely different from Naruto, in fact they were in no way similiar. They both had extremely different hair color and eye color. She smiled a bit to her self at the idea that she had infact not missed Naruto having something as important as a sister.

Kiseki stumbled across some small branches and twigs before she was free enough to jump down safely into the arms of Naruto. He put her down gently and upon seeing the other girl she quickly took Naruto's hands and hid behind him.

"Uh...?" Hinata questioned, a little confused at the girls reaction to seeing her, "D-Did I do something wrong."

"She's had a hard time with people."

"Oh...?" The girl seemed to question.

"Let's just leave it at that, ok?" Naruto turned to look at Kiseki and smiled at her, "She my teammate, you don't have to be scared of her."

Slowly and quietly she poked her head out to see the older girl. Hinata smiled a bit and waved at her, then apologized for scaring her. Although Kiseki was still a bit hesitant, she was finally able to greet the new face.

"I need to take her somewhere safe."

"Safe?"

"It's not safe here. Home is safe, this isn't safe," He said a bit frantically, looking for somewhere he could take the girl.

"N-Naruto-kun is there something wrong."

"No, no, nothing." Naruto said. He was getting a bit aggravated with the situation and more eager to find a place to put her untill the team meating ended. He knew these problems would eventually come and he cursed at himself for even bringing her to school in the first place.

"If it's not to much trouble, I will take her, Naruto-kun."

Naruto turned to the voice.

"O-O-Old man! What are you doing her."

"Just offering some help," The 3rd smiled at the boy.

Naruto hid Kiseki behind him; he wasn't going to let the old man take her back. He wanted to when and how the Hokage found out. The situation was getting stressful to him and before he could speak the Hinata did the honors.

"Hokage-sama?"

"You won't take her back, will you old man? I won't let you. I'll..."

"You mis-understand me Naruto-kun. She will be right here with me until you get back. Then she is all yours for the keeping."

"She's not an object," He said, glaring at the man.

"You are right, I'm sorry. However, I give you the Hokage's word that nothing will happen to this girl while you are away."

Naruto thought about it. He didn't want to give her up that easily, but he found no other choice in the matter. Maybe the Hokage was worth trusting, he had come through every other time Naruto needed him. Naruto nodded hessintantly. Kiseki gripped Naruto's arm tighter. She really didn't want to leave Naruto because she knew she would be safe with him. She didn't trust anyone else.

"O... Ok. But it's up to her."

"Great..." He said turning to the little girl. He smiled at her and held his hand out.

"But if you break your promise, I swear that none of Konoha will be safe untill I find her." Naruto said, a bit louder than before.

"I understand."

Naruto turned to Kiseki and led her to the Hokage. He promised her that if he didn't get her back in a certain amount time; he would find her and bring her back. After what seemed like a bit of convincing, Kiseki went to the man. Sarutobi picked her up, placind her on his shoulders and spoke to the little girl. Naruto eyed him carefully, but finally began to trust the man when he offered to take her out to eat. He was beggining to think that the Hokage would take care of her and that he wouldn't have to worry.

Hinata tapped Naruto on the shoulder and after knocking out of his trance she told him that they should hurry back to there room. They bolted off and were suprised to that their sensei had finally arrived.

"You're late," He said.

Unfortunately for the Jounin, neither Naruto nor Hinata were in the mood to here any of that crap and right in front of the jounin they pulled out two Kunai and threw them at the book he had in his hands. The kunai's struck the book right through the center making most of the middle section unreadable. The Jounin looked at them madly, but before he could speak, he met the voice of an angry Naruto.

"We're late! WE ARE LATE! SHUT UP! PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH MORON BECAUSE NEXT TIME IT WON'T BE THAT PERVERTED BOOK OF YOURS THAT'S RIPPED IN HALF! GAH!" Naruto threw his hands into the air, "BASTARD!"

"Ok then, my first impression of you three, is that I don't like you," He said calmly, "To the roof everyone."

"Ok, why don't you start by telling me something interesting about yourself?" Kakashi said, pulling out new copy of Icha Icha Paradise. He always kept to just in case things like the previous commotion happened, "I guess I'll go first. I am Kakashi, my interests are none of your business, what I like and dislike do not pertain to you, and my dreams are none of your concern."

"We didn't learn anything," Hinata said a bit shocked.

"Now you, the girl in white."

"Ummm, ok. M-My name Hyuuga Hinata. I-I like nice people and my dream is to become a worthy heir to the Hyuuga Family."

"Ok, now you in the summer clothes."

"Alright. Well I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen and friendly peolpe. I dislike traitors and people who take their family for granted; and my dream is to become Hokage..." Naruto paused for a second, grabbing a little more of Kakashi and the groups attention, "And too... give a certain person a chance to live a happier life."

'_Oh, the first two seem to have their priorities in order. She needs a bit more confidence however Naruto might be able to pull that out a bit and if all goes well, he may help the Uchiha as well." _Kakashi thought. He pointed towards the third member and told him that it was his turn.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things, I dislike alot of things. My dream, no, ambition, is to revive my clan and to kill a certain man."

"_Just as suspected. Uchiha Itachi is undoubtably his target. He will be tough to fix." _

"Very good. We will meet in training ground seven tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp for survival training. I advise you not to eat, or you will throw up."

"S-survival training?" Hinata said, asking the question that all the genin wanted an answer too.

"This survival training is different. This will decide if the three of you are fit to be ninja's, or if you need to sent back to the academy."

"What do you mean sent back, we just graduated!"

"Graduating means that all of you have met the qualifications to become Konoha shinobis. However, you must pass a test before you become one. This survival training has a 66 chance of failure. Yes, only 1/3 of your class will become active Genin. So I advise you best be prepared."All three students pailed at Kakashi's words, "But don't worry, one of you were at the top of your class, were you not?"

Kakashi put down his book for a second and chuckled at them and dismissed them. He dissapeared in a puff of smoke leaving all three graduates alone. Naruto, still a little bit unnerved about the survival training they would have the next day, tried to break the tention.

"Uh... Do you guys want to go eat out to celebrate our team?"

"No!" Sasuke said. Before Naruto could respond to him, the boy jumped off the roof and was off to do his own things. Naruto sighed and turned to his other teammate, "I guess you don't want to either."

"S-sorry I can't," She said a bit nerv-racked, "I-I have to go home," She said. She yelled at her self in her head for missing out on such a great opportunity, but once again she gave into her shyness and let it go. She wanted to kick herself, but held back.

"I see," Naruto said silently. He looked back up at her, and while hiding his dissapointment he quickly spoke again, "Maybe, some other time right!"

Hinata face began to turn red when she realized Naruto was asking her out. Sure it wasn't a date, but it was as close to one as she could have ever hoped to ask for. Quickly trying to blurt out a responce, she nodded her head couple of times and finally said ok.

"S-see you tomorrow, N-Naruto-kun!" She said, before jumping off and heading in her own direction. Naruto stood and watched her run off for a bit and after finally gaining his senses, he went to where the Hokage had promised to meet him. As promised from the Hokage, the old man was there with a seemingly happy Kiseki who after seeing Naruto, ran to his side and gripped on to him.

"We had a good time eh, Kiseki-chan?" The Hokage looked at the girl happily.

"Yes! But I missed onii-chan!" She responded. The man chuckled and looked at Naruto.

"You've made her very happy Naruto," He said, "Take good care of her." The 3rd began to walk off but turned to Naruto one last time, "You've made it one step closer to Hokage. I think you'll do well."

Somehow dinner was more fullfiling that night. Neither had spent this night alone as they had so many more times in the past. Kiseki had opened up to Naruto alot more, talking about trivial things such as her favorite color and favorite food, things that she wanted do now and things she wanted to do in the future. He was suprised to hear that Kiseki did not want to become a ninja, but instead a designer. He appluaded her and said he would help in whatever way he could. Kiseki laughed and smiled with him for the rest of the night.

"Cheers to us," Naruto said, lifting up his small glass. Kiseki looked puzzled and he told her to do the same. She imitated him and when they knocked their glasses together they drank ever last bit of water in the cup.

She could tell he was happy; and that made her happy. It was almost as if she had connected with him in some way. When he was far, she felt alone; when he was close, she felt safe. When he was sad, she felt sad; and when he was happy she became happy. It was the relationship she had always yearned for; and even though she had only known him for a couple of days, even though he wasn't even real family, he became much more.

"Because together, we're family," He smiled.

* * *

Kiseki's heart leapt, with him she was alive; with him, she was home.

Morgri: So this ends chapter three. I'm not exactly sure if this turned out good as far as reading and writing standards go, but I think it's alright. I went over the story about a thousand times so it should be mistake free. If not, just beat me over the head with it.

Please keep in mind that the whole scene with Hinata and Naruto is not made to insinuate the idea that they will be a couple. It is just a reaction I think she would have if she were put on his team and in that situation. In fact it's probably not exagerated enough. I'm not sure if I will make couples for this story, but if you guys really want one, then suggest your favorites and I'll make sure to put some thought into it. However, I'm not a yaoi fan so please don't bombard me with sasunaru's or you will be dissapointed.

Also, there are three versions of this chapter. One with Hinata as the teammate (as presented), another with Sakura as the teammate, and a third with a different OC. If you would like to see any of these other version, emial me or tell me in the reviews and I'll be glad to send it or post it up.

Finally, please be sure to give a review. What you like, what you don't like, what you wish were in there, etc etc, it is all helpful criticism that would hopefully improve the story and make it more enjoyable for those of you reading.

Morgri.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, and I'm glad I don't, otherwise I would be the result of the terrible fillers that are playing on TV right now, and all of you would kill me…

Summary: October 13th has never been kind to Naruto. But what if this time he gets a gift he will never forget, and finds out that miracles aren't always what one expects them to be.

AU (alternate Universe) there will be OoC through the story on some characters.

"Denotes speech"  
'_Denotes thought'  
_Shift in Time or Seen  
_**Flash Back**_

**Miracle**

Naruto looked in awe when he saw that the money on the table had been just the amount he needed to not only pay the rent, but the water bill and the electricity bill also. There was even enough to buy him some badly needed clothes. He briefly wondered where the money had come from and silently thanked God for the angel whom had given it to him. He, for now, did not have to worry about his financial shortcomings and could focus on other important necesities instead. He was a bit worried about the exam his new sensei would be giving him and, entranced by his fears, he found himself forgetting not to eat and instead sitting with a very animated Kiseki sipping up some ramen for breakfast.

"Yummm!"

Luckily, in Naruto's and possibly Kiseki's point of view, ramen was the escape for all troubles and for a moment he was able to forget his problems and focus on a different topic. He had learned yesterday that the little girl beside him had never been taught to read and he found it troubling that she did not even know the perticular sounds each letter in alphebet made. He figured that since he was now watching over her it was his responsibility and duty to teach her how to read and made it a priority to go to the library and get some childrens books directly after the big scrimmage with his new team. He also thought about teaching Kiseki some self defence just incase a situation came up. He knew that he could teach atleast the basics of self defense. A couple of blocks and punches would work out fine. If she decided that she liked the excersizes, he would teach her more, but only at her request. He wasn't going to force her into being a ninja.

The morning sun had begun to shine into the kitchen and Naruto shivered a bit at the chill that passed through his unsealed window. Kiseki, despite wearing some rather warm clothes, had snuggled into the bedroom blanket and invited Naruto to join her, but she found herself a bit dissapointed when he turned down her offer saying that he had to wash the dishes before he left.

After yesterday's events, Kiseki did not put up a big fight and instead found her self agreeing that she should stay at home during Naruto's training session. She was thrilled when he told her that he would make sure they had time together outside the house whenever he got home. It was already no secret that she enjoyed her time with him very much, but she made sure not to aggravate him to much; even though he continued to insist that she never bothered him at all. In fact, you could almost say Naruto enjoyed her company just as much or even more than she did.

Naruto sneezed and while hugging his body he went to the bathroom for some towls; he could atleast try to seal the window. Winter was becoming more apparent everyday and the incredibly cold winds made it more noticable. Despite only being October, Konoha was known for its exasperatingly long winters and Naruto's senses told him that it would probably snow later in the day. He had always been fantastic at guessing the weather, almost as if it came natural to him. This, one could argue, was because the Kyuubi's own hightened senses; however, there were those special cases in which a child was born with certain suprising abilities, Naruto didn't think this was one of them though.

Despite the cold whether his house was still rather cossy and the only thing that took away from the warmth were the breezes that blew through the door and window. If those breezes got too strong, then he and Kiseki could simply high tail it to his room and use the bedroom blanket; much like she was doing now.

Naruto admitted, though, that he much rather enjoyed the season's cooler breezes than he did the scorching hot summer heat. He did, however, feel a bit unconfortable with wearing such light clothes outside, but the boy figured that all the movement that would come in training would help warm him up. For now, he knew had no other option and complaining would only make the weather bite him even harder.

Kiseki noticed his pensive mode and demanded they go shopping later on. As much as he didn't want to, he had to agree that he needed too. He guessed that it would be fine to do since it was in the same vincity as where the building he needed to go to to pay the light and water bill. He sighed a bit, moping about having to go to the market again, he didn't like that place very much.

Naruto finished washing the dishes and before he left, he gave Kiseki some work to do around the small house. Her duty was to clean the room and sweep the floor, an easy enough task that she wouldn't have any trouble doing. It would also give her something to keep occupied with while he was gone; he only hoped the survival training wouldn't last long. If Kakashi-sensei was as late as he was the other day, then there would be trouble. While Kiseki dug out the broom, Naruto checked the window one last time making sure it was shut, sealed and locked and when he finished he said his good bye and walked out the door. Kiseki watched him as he left.

* * *

The rumble to training ground seven wasn't that far, but an unsettling excitment that ran through Naruto's vains was making the trip feel alot longer than it actually should have been. Fortunetaly, however, he did not have to put up with any villagers since the way to the grounds was the opossite way of the academy. Less people walked around the outskirts of the village and he would only have to meet up with a few people, mostly other students, on his way there. 

Unfortunately, he knew that a quiet walk to the training grounds would not last long either, and Naruto sighed when he noticed two students from another team point and laugh at him as they passed by.

"Don't have to worry about his team this year."

They where both very well off, it seemed, as they both boasted very expensive gears and clothing specifically designed for fighting in the winter. The two, one of which Naruto noted to be named Ami, had been placed on team five which by coincidence had been deemed the best overall team of the year. Each student in this team had finished with an average score of about 85 and all three specialized in a different area. It seemed there where no holes at all.

"Ah just avoid him, you know what my mom says about him." The girl name Ami said loudly, intentionally letting Naruto hear her, "Got to leave the trash in the dumpster."

Naruto shrugged a bit but decided against responding. He knew it would just be a waste of time and he really didn't feel like getting in a pointless arguement. He already had too much to worry about and getting discouraged right before his so called test would only distract him from doing his best.

"The trash can't even talk; he's too weak for us anywa..."

"Only the weakest ninja disregards a potential threat." Said a voice from behind and Naruto turned around, a bit shocked, to see a girl a litte older than Kiseki.

"Pssh, what do you know brat?" The second of the two said, distraught that he had been bashed so easily.

"They always cry and moan about it later; I've seen it happen," She said while maintaining a peircing glare directed at the both the boy and girl. The boy growled a bit and quickly drew a kunai.

"You want to test that theory!"

Ami became a bit tense and when the younger girl did nothing but stare down her partner she decided to get out of the situation. There was no sense in continuing anymore and she didn't want to be late for her own exam.

"Whatever, let's go Kota, we're wasting our time."

"But," She looked at him with pleading eyes and he finally gave in, "Fine."

The two marched off quickly leaving only Naruto and the black haired girl standing. Naruto was amazed at how she had told the two off so quickly and felt a bit ashamed that he hadn't been able too. For a brief moment he wished he had her sharp tounge, but laughed it off telling himself he could never be that mean.

"You should have more confidence." She said. She didn't mock him or act superior, it almost seemed as she was giving advice. "Onee-san is the same way. She takes alot of crap, but never retaliates. She would be stronger if she did."

"Oh... I see."

"I've seen you fight, you'd do better too, if you had more confidence in yourself."

"Wait, you've seen me fi..."

"In the forest, onee-san watches you. I admire you; I want to work hard too, to become strong." She said. Naruto smiled and patted her on the head, causing the young girl to blush a bit.

"I'm sure you'll be really strong! You can already do something that I can't."

"Y-you can," She said, happier than before. She really seemed to enjoy his attention and became a bit sad when Naruto stopped.

"Ok, I will," He said, "What's your name?"

"Hyuuga Hanabi, nice to meet you." She said bowing traditionally.

"Hyuuga Hanabi. Hinata's sister, it's nice to meet you too."

Naruto was happy. Perhaps he had found a potential friend for Kiseki; another girl to which she could possibly relate too. After all, every little girl needed a girlfriend. They could talk about girl stuff and make up or whatever. Things he was sure he wouldn't know or think about. He didn't know if the girl would want to meet Kiseki, but he didn't think that it would hurt to try.

"I know someone your age that would love to meet you," he said, "That is, if you would like too."

She looked at him curiously. Her father didn't allow her to have many friends since he said that it distracted her from training. She pondered for a moment weighing the positives and negetives of meeting this person and finally, after a couple of seconds, her childish insticts took over.

"Ok."

"Great!" Naruto smiled, taking her hands, "I'll meet you right here at say..."

"One o' clock." She said.

"Your wish is my command," He said bowing down to her.

She looked at him strangly but then gave a slight giggle. She had never met anyone so loose and happy in her life, and she found her self taking a strange liking for the boy. She had admired him much like her sister, but she had always found her self a bit jealous of Hinata since she had gotten to talk to him many times before. She would never admit that though.

"Now, I got to, or I'll be late." He beamed.

"Ok, bye." She waved at him.

"Remember one o' clock! I'll be waiting!"

"Ok!" She said, a little more excitedly than before.

"That's the spirit!"

Naruto went on his way, it wouldn't be long before the exam and he now knew more than ever that he was ready to become a genin.

* * *

Hinata was the first to arrive to training ground seven. She made sure that all her of preperations were complete. She checked and counted how many kunais and throwing stars she had, strapped the holder around her leg and made sure that she could get to them fast enough to use in a seconds notice. She went through a couple of hand seals but before she could activate her bloodline Sasuke had arrived and hmphed to make his presence known. 

"G-Good morning, Sasuke-san." She mumbled.

He looked her way to acknowledge her greeting and then turned back to do is own preperation work.

"Don't get in my way," He warned.

"O-ok."

Hinata was confident that the test wasn't just to examin their individual skills and weaknesses, there had to be more to it; but for the moment, she couldn't put her finger on it. She hoped that she could figure out before time ran out. She wanted to pass and make her father proud.

"Do you think we should team..."

"No!"

Hinata sighed, it seemed like Sasuke was completely uninterested in working with anyone. For now she would have to rely on Naruto. Hopefully he would team up with here. Her mother always told her that two heads were better than one. She had told her that team missions had always been easier than solo ones because you could always trust a reliable team mate.

"Hello everyone!"

Hinata looked towards the voice and smiled when she saw the boy. She waved at him and tried her best to give a confident reply, but it was to no avail. She had shyed off again and she once again scolded herself for not responding better.

Naruto had walked over to a large tree that stood at the edge of the training grounds and sat down in the shade. Hinata decided to take this opportunity to talk things over with Naruto. She wanted to tell him what she thought about the exam and that if she was right about it, then it would be better to team up than fight solo.

Through her nervousness, she walked slowly towards the tree and slowly sat next to Naruto. Her heart was beating quickly and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down a little bit.

"N-Naruto-kun," She said shakely. He looked up at her in question, but said nothing as he was to busy thinking about his own strategies and plans to pass the test. Hinata gulped once more and continued.

"I-I think we should... Team up."

"Team up?"

"I d-don't think we can pass by ourselves." Noticing that he had given her more attention, she became a bit more confident with her words. "I don't think the test is all about our individual skills." She said.

"Then for what?"

"F-for team work. I think the true idea of the test is team work."

"Team work? We are going up against a jounin..." Naruto paused, thinking about what she had said. He knew he wasn't the smartest person in the world, but what she said actually made sense. She was right, there was no way they could beat a jounin alone. "You... might be right."

Hinata smiled to herself, Naruto was going to team up with her. Maybe together they could pass the exam!

"Ok. I will," Naruto said. He looked over toward Sasuke and when he saw he was paying no attention to either of them he took out a kunai and threw it at him. Sasuke, with quick reflexes, noticed the kunai and caught it with his finger.

"What do you want dobe," He said, glaring at the blonde.

"We should team up."

"No, you two will just get in my way."

"Are you stupid, there's no way you can beat him alone." Naruto said; Hinata merely nodded in agreement.

"Hmph, he can't even make a meeting on time. I don't think I'll have a problem."

"Fine, but don't come crying to us if you fail." He said.

Sasuke just glared and returned to his own thoughts. Hinata thought that Naruto was being a little cruel, but decided that what he said was right. Since he didn't want to work with them, if he failed, he should have live with the consequences.

Hinata quietly patted Naruto on the shoulder and asked him about a battle plan. He scratched his head in agreement and began to think of a strategy. She thought with him, for she knew that the plan would have to be absolutely perfect. The plan would probably be pass or fail, no exceptions. She shivered, she was now more nervous than ever.

* * *

Iruka, while sitting with the Hokage for some breakfast, looked at the jounins folder in disbelief. Kakashi had tested a total of 24 students and... 

"Yamato failed... Motomiya failed... Ichigo Failed... Has he ever even passed a single student?" Iruka yelled. He was in pure disbelief. Naruto had been put on the most terrifying jounins team; A jounin who had never even thought about passing a student. Even the Hokage had had is moments of disbelief, but he knew far and well that this year could and would be different.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, this years batch of students seem to be far ahead of those from the past few years. You've taught well, Iruka."

"But not a single student..."

Iruka dropped his head in agony. As much as he liked Naruto, he really didn't want to teach him another year. The boy had already proven his worth; he just had to put his knowledge into practice. Hopefully Naruto would, so that he wouldn't have to have another worrisome year with the boy.

"Oh, but look on the bright sighed, there has been more success on the survival exams this year than there has been in the last 5 years."

Iruka prepped up a bit.

"For good news, Teams 3, 5, 8, and 9, have already passed. Unfortunately, Teams 1, 2, and 4 have failed. All that lacks is the results of teams 7."

"How, what? Have they even started yet?"

* * *

"Kakashi is as late as always," 

Iruka sighed.

Kakashi Sneezed.

Two hours late and happy about it, he had finally arrived at training field seven and not only was he smiling, but laughing as well. After a few minutes of cheerful gigles, he looked up from his book and acknowledged the presence of his students.

"Yo."

Needless to say, Sasuke and Naruto were pissed, even Hinata was fuming. He was a disgrace to any ninja, and for a moment the three found them selves discussing the possibility of finding a new sensei, especially if this continued on.

"You know," Sasuke said. He gave a menocing glare to the teacher, almost making the man sweat, "Only a pathetic, disgraceful fool of a ninja..."

"CAN'T EVEN MAKE HIS OWN DANG MEETING ON TIME!" Naruto finished.

"Oh ho, a little angry are we?"

"I swear, you pervert, that if this keeps happening, not just me, but the rest of this team will not only report you to the Hokage, but get your sloth slow butt demoted as well!" Naruto said.

"N-not even an academy student shows up this late for class!"

"To make it clear, Kakashi-SENSEI," Sasuke said, stretching the teacher part, "You.are.a.pathetic. Excuse for a ninja."

Kakashi laughed nervously. He didn't want to admit it, but he did feel a little interrogated.

"And if you don't think we can, Kakashi-sensei,"

"K-Keep in mind t-that I am the Hyuuga heir, and I will have my father do something."

"Ok... why don't we start the exam?" Kakashi smiled. A small drop of sweat hung from the back of his head. He hadn't expected this.

Kasashi lead them to the center of the training field. The area was surrounded by trees, but in the center it was just a large field of grass. To the right of them there was a rather small lake, but big and deep enough to be potentially dangerous. Each student took every part of the scenery into account. Every tree could have been a possible advantage, and the three planned on figuring out how and why they could be so important.

"I've set this clock to go off and 12:00, you each have until then to steal one of these bells from me." Kakashi put on a serious face, "Come at me with killer intent, or else you won't pass."

Hinata and Naruto nodded. Sasuke merely grunted.

"Obviously there are only two bells, thus one of you will fail no matter what, so I suggest you get one quickly. Oh and I have brought two lunches, so whoever fails to get a bell will go hungry and..." He laughed, "...Get tied onto the stump right there."

"Do you think it's a trick, Hinata?" Naruto whispered into her ear.

She nodded.

"You start in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto chanted.

Twelve kage bunshins immediately appeared and before Kakashi had time to question his ability to use the jutsu, each bunshin began to attack. Kakashi opened his book and while reading, he easily discarded the first few with out even moving.

"Oh, Kage bunshin?"

Kakashi ducked under a roundhouse kick and grabbed the leg of the offender. He skillfully tossed it into two other bunshins that ran at him, causing all three to dissapear in a puff of smoke. Kakashi elbowed the last bunshin effortlessly and in a matter of seconds every bunshin had dissapeared.

"Good use of strategy, but bad use of the technique."

Naruto grinned, "I'm just getting started," he said before dashing off towards his sensei.

"Stupid Dobe," Sasuke said. He ran deeper in the forest to prepare for his own attack.

"A hothead I see," Kakashi retaliated. He sidestepped Naruto's side kick and then ducked under a helicopter kick, "You are defenitely lacking in taijutsu training," He said, blocking two more punches and a low kick with his heel. "You don't seem to have a perticular fighting style either, almost like a beggining academy student."

"Shut up! I'll show you!" He said, continuing his attempted assualt.

"You have too many holes. Taijutsu lesson number one, never give up an opening to the body."

Kakashi sidestepped Naruto's punch causing the boy to get a little ahead of himself. He slid behind Naruto and began some hand seals.

"Secret technique, 1000 years of pain!"

Kakashi's fingers stabbed Naruto is his butt, causing the boy to yelp out in extreme pain. Kakashi lauged, but his enjoyment ended when the boy puffed into a cloud of smoke. He raised an eyebrow.

Hiding in the forest Naruto laughed with Hinata.

"He fell for it," the boy said, high fiving the girl, "Part one, complete."

* * *

On the opposite side of Hinata and Naruto, Sasuke had finished laying out his traps and he pulled out a kunai to begin his plan. The Jounin had promptly walked his way and Sasuke was sure the man hadn't seen or noticed him. Kakashi giggled a bit and after seeing the the jounins guard go down he quickly threw the kunai towards his head. 

Kakashi smiled under his mask and as soon as the kunai struck him he puffed into a log.

"Replacement jutsu?" Sasuke said, "Oh no, he knows my position!"

Sasuke quickly jumped down from the tree and before he could depart he was stopped by Kakashi's voice.

"Defensive lesson number 1 never let your guard down."

"I'm not like the others, I won't lose to you." Sasuke said, glaring down the teacher.

"Oh ho, big words for a little boy."

Sasuke quickly drew some shurikens and threw them at the jounin.

"You'll need more than that," Kakashi said, jumping high enough to evade every shuriken.

Sasuke smiled and for a brief moment Kakashi was caught off guard. The shuriken struck the tree behind them and Kakashi was a bit shocked when it released a whole new set of kunais and shurikens. Kakashi moved his book and pulled out a kunai of his own to block the projectiles that aimed for him.

"Hmmm, I can't even read my novel with this one."

Sasuke quickly ran towards the man and delivered an uppercut to the jounins face. Kakashi moved his head to aviod the frst punch and used his hand to block a second punch which went for his stomach. He grabbed the boys arm wanting to throw him off, but was stopped when the Sasuke used to the leverage to throw a kick at his face. The jounin released the boy and jumped back to avoid the kick. Sasuke took the opportunity to reach for the bell, but was denied when Kakashi lifted his knee, striking away the boy's arm. They both landed feet first on opposite sides of each other.

"Good try!" Kakashi clapped.

"I'm not done yet."

Kakashi watched as the boy started to make some hand seals.

"This jutsu? At his age, there's no wa..."

"Grand Fireball Technique!"

A large blast of fire exploded from Sasuke mouth, the flames so hot that they burned the ground around him. Sasuke held the technique for as long as he could, but stopped when the heat became too much for him to handle and dispelled the technique. The boy smirked as the smoke cleared, but his confidence faltered when his sensei had dissapeared.

"Up? To the right? To the left?" Sasuke said, beginning to panic.

"Below."

Sasuke looked down and grimaced a bit when Kakashi snared his ankles. In less then a second, Sasuke had been buried up to his head and Kakashi sat there looking at him.

"Got a little confident there, Sasuke-kun."

Kakashi smiled and flicked him across the head, causing Sasuke to give him an angry glare.

"Remember; always keep your guard up." Kakashi said. He stood up and left to find the other pair.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, do you think we should help Sasuke-san?" 

Naruto looked over to Hinata. They had both heard the explosion and niether one of them had bet on Sasuke as the winner. Despite his refusal to help them, perhaps his humilation would convince him into teaming up with him. Whether Naruto wanted it or not, he knew it was for the best. Besides, he had planned on being a good teammate, some one that could be trusted and counted on. If he abandoned his teammate, he would be doing the exact opposite of what he stood for. A Hokage never abandoned his village. He wouldn't abandon his teammate.

"Yeah, let's go."

Hinata formed some hand seals and activated her byakugan. With it, she could scan an area of almost 360 degrees and see father distances than any normal ninja could. It would defenitely help them find their friend a lot faster, so that they wouldn't use all their test time actually looking for him. It would be a shame to fail the test with out actually even trying to get the bells.

They quickly but carefully made there way towards their teammate, making sure that Kakashi was no where in sight. All though their strategy was intentionally made for two people, it would have to be altered to include a third person in it, assuming he would accept their help.

Hinata found him several minutes later and, choosing not to ask what had happened, both her and Naruto walked up to him. He didn't look happy and Hinata flinched at his look of contempt towards them. Naruto just leaned down and stretched out his hand.

"So, Sasuke, do you want our help now?"

"No!"

"We could get you out in matter of seconds."

"I can do it myself."

"Fine then, we offered."

Naruto took Hinata's hand and began to walk off. If the Uchiha was too hard hearded to get help at this point, then he was unsavable, and Naruto wasn't going to waste his and Hinata's time begging him for help.

"W-wait," Sasuke said silently, "Please get me out."

"Alright, that's all you had to say." Naruto said.

He and Hinata walked up to Sasuke and with the help of some kage bunshins, dug Sasuke out of the ground quickly. Althought they didn't recieve even as much as a small thanks, they were atleast happy that Sasuke had made enough progress to accept there help. Hopefully his somewhat friendlier mode would last until the test was over.

Hinata beconed the two to hurry up, they were running out of time and for the moment, niether had a clue where their sensei was. That could be fixed easily with her byakugan and she wasted no time in activating it.

To no one suprise, the man waited in the center of the training grounds reading his book. He saw looked over and saw the three off them and then pointed towards the clock. There were only ten minutes left.

Naruto looks toward Hinata and she nodded, knowing that this was there last and only chance.

"Alright Hinata let's go!" Naruto said, ready to get into some action, "You can help to if you want Sasuke."

"Hmph, there is no way you two could possibly beat him. There is no point to this."

"We'll see."

Naruto looked over to Kakashi and gave him a thumb up sign. The man looked at him in wonder and shrugged.

"Alright go!"

Naruto pulled out sever kunai and while he threw them at his sensei, Hinata ran towards him to distract him more. Sasuke just stood back and watched, for he knew there was no way they would win. By there movements he could tell they were way under his level and if he couldn't do it, then there was no way they would.

Kakashi easily dodged the first Kunai, but when Hinata came into strike he found it more difficult to evade the second. Hinata used her fists elegantly and quickly and her taijutsu was much better than either Sasuke or Kakashi had given her credit for. If he got struck once by one of Hinata's palms, Kakashi knew it would be all over, for physical strength didn't matter against Hyuugas.

Another shurikan flew towards Kakashi's waist and while nearly avoiding a blow from hinata's fists, he was able to pull out a kunai and just block the shuriken from nipping the strings holding the bells. Hinata took the chance to grab for them, and a single finger touched one before Kakashi had skillfully manuevered his body out of the reach of the younger girl.

Kakashi was about to speak but was interrupted when Naruto fist came flying towards his face. He barely blocked it using his free hand and when Hinata attempted to reach for the bells again, his elbow to knock her arm away. Getting tired of his students onslaught, he grabbed both their arms, but was suprised when Sasuke jumped in and grabbed one of the bells. Kakashi threw Hinata and Naruto away and when they landed on their feet they were suprised that Sasuke had grabbed only one of the bells.

"S-Sasuke, why didn't you get both bells?" Naruto asked.

"Hmph, I don't care if you two pass or not, you'll just get in my way."

"B-but we helped you," Hinata exclaimed. She was very dissapointed that not only had they failed to get the bells the first time, but Sasuke had just taken one when he could have gotten two.

"No problem Hinata, we still got atleast five minutes left, we can get you the other one. We almost had them both."

"B-but what about you Naruto-kun?"

"Don't worry, let's just get that bell."

"O-ok."

Naruto put his hand together and created some Kage bunshins, while Hinata once again activated her byakugan. All them attacked their sensei at the same time, but before they could strike their sensei put his hand out.

"Stop."

Both Naruto and Hinata stopped their attacks and turned to each other in wonder.

"Why?"

The bell rung not two seconds later and while Sasuke had a noticable smirk on his face, the other two looked at each other sad and confused. They thought that a duel attack would work perfectly, and had they more time, they were sure that they would have succedded in getting the bells. The idea that Hinata, with her knowledge of taijutsu, and his unorthodox style of fighting could knock the teacher off balance had been the entirety of the plan. It wasn't some great strategy, but it had almost worked. The idea, well they thought, was that of teamwork.

"All three of you come with me."

He led them towards three stumps that sat in the middle of the training grounds and taking out a rope he pointed at the two with out a bell. Naruto smirked and shrugging his shoulders he spoke.

"I guess it can't be helped."

"B-but Naruto, I-I did less work, I should be tied up."

Kakashi smiled under his mask and after tying up Naruto he spoke.

"Naruto, what was the purpose of this test." He asked confidently.

"Uh... At first, I thought it would be testing our individual skills, but..."

Hinata gulped nervously, she wasn't sure whether her early deductions were right anymore...

"It's all right, go on."

"I spoke with Hinata before starting the test and she convinced that teamwork was the actual point of this test. I realized that we weren't fighting any beggining ninja, but a jounin, a high rank jounin. There was no way we could beat you one on one, no matter what the test was. She made sense of that. So I tried to team up with her, all though we failed."

Sasuke smirked and held his arms across his chest.

"Excellent deduction."

"W-when we heard Sasuke-san's explosion, we went to see if he would work with us." Hinata stumbled, speaking shyly, "He told us he would, so we got him out when he asked us too."

"Sasuke, how did you get that bell?" Kakashi asked again.

"You let your guard down when you faught them, I just took advantage of that."

"The mission was to get these bells from me. Those were the unspoken rules of this game." Kakashi said, "But You two found out the correct answer to this test, and because of your willingness to help your teammate, you failed your mission because of it's time constraint." He said, "You however, abandoned your teammates in order to complete the mission. I'll show why this is dangerous."

In a serious of quick movements, Kakashi had grabbed Sasuke, thrown him on the ground, and had a kunai at his throat.

"Hinata, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies."

"W-What!" All three shouted.

Sasuke began to struggle, attempting to get free; but it was to no avial. Kakashi calmed down the three ninja's and after a few seconds let go of Sasuke.

"If you come home with one ninja, instead of three, then the mission is essientially failed." He said, "Do you understand Uchiha Sasuke. An enemy will not show the mercy I showed you. Had they not helped you, you would have been as good as dead. Had you not slown them down, they would have obtained the two bells, while you would have been stuck in the ground the rest of the day."

Sasuke put his head to the ground, he knew what the man said was true.

"But, they did the right thing, and because of it, you essientially stole both bells," He continued, "The rules were to obtain the bells, you followed those rules. However, let me tell you this. While it's true that ninjas who disobey the rules are trash; ninjas who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. Remember this lesson, for because of your teammates, you have passed the test."

"W-we passed?" Hinata said in disbelief.

She smiled and clenched her fist while Sasuke breathed a breath of relief and smirked. Both were celebrating in their own minds and while Sasuke was proud that he had overcome a stumbling block in the way of accomlishing his goal, Hinata was just happy that she could tell her father that she had been the one to figure out the true answer of the test. She held a silent hope that it would make her father proud of her.

Naruto lowered his head a bit and frowned, allowing a sigle tear to fall from his cheek. A million thoughts ran through his head, and an undescribable amount of emotions flooded his body. He had finally passed. He wasn't sure what to do, or rather what he wanted to do. He wanted to cry, but at the same time laugh. He wanted to think, but also to scream. He wanted to rest, but also celebrate.

"Congratulations, we will start team missions tomorrow," Kakashi said, "Untill then your dismissed." He said and then dissapeared.

Hinata untied Naruto and they each congratulated each other for a job well done. Naruto then walked up to Sasuke and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?"

"We don't understand each other very well, by why don't we give it a chance?" Naruto said, holding his hand out to the other boy. Sasuke paused for a bit and after a couple of seconds, gripped Naruto's hand.

"Ok."

Hinata smiled at the two of them; maybe things were finally starting to come together.

* * *

Hanabi waited quitely at the exact spot where Naruto had told her he would meet her. For some strange reason, she felt more excited than she thought she should have been and despite not being the most giddy girl in the world a beautiful smile shown on her face. 

Her father had put up a ruckus when he heard she was going out, but as soon as she mentioned Naruto's name he hadn't said another word and even almost ushered her out the door. She had questioned him about it, but he didn't give a full responce, just something about the villagers being foolish. He had then told her something about inviting him over one day.

Guests weren't a very common sight in the Hyuuga's court, so there must have been something different about Uzumaki Naruto than everyone else, especially if her father had told her to invite him. Whatever it was her father was talking about, it had sparked her curiosity for him even more and she was determined that she would get to know him better, no matter what.

Hanabi shifted unconfortably. She was nervous. It was the first time she had ever had a play date and though she wasn't a shy person, she wasn't very talkitive either. She only hoped that she would come out of this with a new friend, she wanted to feel and experience outside of training and battle; for that, was pretty much all she had ever known.

The girl looked at her watch and gulped. It was almost time and she didn't know what to do.

"Hanabi-chan, you're here!"

Hanabi jumped a bit at his voice, but settled down and turned to see Naruto with kiseki standing next to him. She looked a little shy, almost like her sister, but Hanabi instantly took interest in her. Kiseki on the other hand looked nervous and for a while she just stared at the other girl.

Naruto laughed nervously, there seemed to be a small tension in the air, and when he was about to introduce the too, one of them finally spoke.

"So..."

Kiseki faught hard to speak through her nervousness and finally won out.

"Do you like ramen?"

Hanabi looked at her in confusion and quickly responded.

"What's Ramen?"

"You don't know?"

"No..."

"Ramen is Ramen! We are going to eat some!" Kiseki said excitedly. She rushed over to Hanabi's side and took her hands, "You want to come? It's really good!"

Hanabi looked Kiseki in the eyes and after moment of silence she smiled.

"Yes!"

"Onii-chan, can she come? Can she please?"

Naruto laughed and nodded his head. Both girls smiled brightly at each other and after whispering something to each other they ran ahead of Naruto and started talking.

"Success," Naruto said to himself. He put his hands to head and followed them.

He may have never had any friends himself, but he knew for sure that Kiseki would; Hanabi was only the first, and most certainly not the last.

Naruto had learned to understand the value of other people's feelings. The world wasn't about him, it was about what he could do to help those around him; and although he didn't have much, to the girl in front of him, he would offer everything. And though he may not of known it, for the two in front him, he was quickly becoming the world, their world, even though one had only just met him.

* * *

All right guys. This was a very very tough chapter to write, especially because of that dang bell test. As some of you may already know, I'm really bad at fighting scenes, so please forgive me for the crappiness of them. I will say though, there is a good 3000 words worth of the bell test so I think it is long enough to satisfy everyone. 

Yes, Hanabi will show up more and I assure you that you will like the scenes with her and Kiseki.

Regarding Kiseki's past, for some of you that are trying to guess who's daughter she is (Which I bet you won't), this will be revealed as Naruto's adventures go on. It will probably be a couple more chapters until you start getting clues and hints, but Naruto has to go through some stuff before the story really gets interesting.

There is not a huge emphasis on fighting because the story is ment to show Naruto and Kiseki's relationship as they go through different trials together. But trust me, I won't dissapoint with action.

Excuse the errors, it's late and I'm tired. But I will update it later with it fixed.

Thanks for reading. Please submit a review and tell me what you like, dislike, what you wish would happen, what you think shouldn't happen or have happened, etc. It is all helpful critcism that will hopefully improve the story and make it more enjoyable for all of you.


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